Sari-sari stores post P8 billion in sales in 2023

MANILA, Philippines — Small neighborhood variety (sari-sari) stores in the Philippines recorded sales of more than P8 billion in 2023, more than 21 percent higher than the previous year’s tally of P6.6 billion, according to a study conducted by analytics startup Packworks.

Packworks, which monitors information from more than 270,000 sari-sari stores nationwide, said that sari-sari stores located in rural areas registered higher sales last year compared to those in urban areas.

Sari-sari stores are small neighborhood retail establishments selling a wide variety of consumer goods, from food and beverages to household items.

“Top regions in terms of gross merchandise volume – or the amount of sales in a given period – are led by suburban and largely rural and agricultural areas in mainland Luzon,” Packworks said.

CALABARZON posted the highest sales at P2.83 billion followed by Cagayan Valley (P1.82 billion) and Central Luzon (P1.58 billion).

Packworks said traditional urbanized regions in the country such as the National Capital Region and Cebu only placed fifth and sixth with P1 billion and P900 million in sales, respectively.

“Rural, agriculture-based regions are naturally more dependent on sari-sari stores rather than on modern trade stores such as groceries,” Packworks said.

Meanwhile, the report highlighted that contrary to expectations, sari-sari store sales trends are not directly driven by inflation.

“Interestingly, the month-on-month growth in total transactions was not correlated with the country’s month-on-month inflation rate,” Packworks said.

“Instead, it seems to be more driven by occasions rather than inflation, as most of the peaks in the trend coincide with major occasions with long breaks – Christmas season and Holy Week,” it added.

Among the products with the highest sales growth are instant noodles with a 159 percent growth, ready-to-heat food products (221 percent), recipe mix (117 percent) and ready-to-cook (42 percent).

Packworks said that of the top 20 products in terms of sales volume, more than half may be considered essential, indicating that sari-sari stores are more than just a refuge for relaxation – they are also the most convenient source of essential household goods.

Packworks is a business-to-business fast-moving consumer goods marketplace for sari-sari stores, empowering them through scalable and accessible technology.

Through the Sari.PH app, over 270,000 sari-sari store owners nationwide are able to digitize their day-to-day operations from pricing and inventory management to sales and revenue tracking, as well as give them access to working capital loans.