Contrary to expectations, sari-sari stores sales trends are not directly driven by inflation and that these establishments are in fact resilient as the neighborhood pantry, findings of Sari IQ Year-End Report for 2023 released by Packworks, a business-to-business fast moving consumer goods marketplace for sari-sari stores.
Andoy Montiel, Packworks chief data officer, attributes this resiliency to the Philippines’ unique sachet economy which enables the sale of goods in small, affordable units even as inflation rates fluctuate.
The study found sari- sari stores provide a lifeline of essential services to around 94 percent of Filipinos nationwide.
The top five products sold in sari-sari stores in 2023 had a gross merchandise value of P2.25 billion. These are detergent (P690 million), powdered coffee (P600 million), shampoo (P410 million), canned fish and seafood (P350 million), and instant noodles (P200 million).
Data showed month-on-month (MOM) growth in GMV was not correlated with the country’s MOM inflation but more by occasions, as most of the peaks in the trend recorded coincide with major occasions with long breaks, such as the Christmas season and Holy Week.
The study said MOM inflation rate of 6.6 percent for April 2023 coincided with Holy Week but sari-sari stores showed resilience but with MOM sales grew by 14.4 percent which is significantly above the inflation rate.
Regardless of the occasion, fastest growing segments are instant noodles (159 percent), ready-to-heat (221 percent), recipe mix (117 percent), and ready-to-cook (42 percent).
The report also found sari-sari stores outside of urban areas record the highest sales. Regions with the highest sales are Region IV-A (P2.83 billion), Region II (P1.82 billion), and Region III (P1.58 billion). Traditional urbanized locales in the country, National Capital Region and Cebu (Region VII), only place 5th and 6th, respectively.
The report’s key findings are based on data collected through Packworks’ business intelligence tool, Sari IQ. Packworks, with its network of over 270,000 sari-sari stores nationwide, recorded more than 8.2 million transactions and sales of more than 15,000 stock keeping units in 2023.
