‘Sari-sari’ stores continue to dominate business registrations in PH
While business name registrations and renewals filed was up just 2 percent so far this year, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) is confident of surpassing last year’s numbers.
Available data from the government agency showed that filings reached 923,383 as of October 6, more than the 902,595 recorded for the whole 10-month period in 2023.
“Business name registrations are on a consistent increase,” Trade Undersecretary Blesila A. Lantayona said.
“Given this positive trend and our ongoing efforts, we are optimistic that we will surpass the highest number of registrations recorded last year,” she told Inquirer.
Out of the total, 88 percent or 817,333 were new registrations while the remaining 106,050 were renewals.
More than half, or 559,759, of the applications were filed at the barangay level while those listed in the cities reached 201,114.
Businesses engaged in the wholesale and retail trade, many of which are small neighborhood shops or “sari-sari stores,” made up 55.43 percent of the total with 511,819 new registrations and renewals.
The accommodation and food service category followed with 129,615, manufacturing with 52,316 and real estate with 45,997.
Other top categories include transportation and storage with 35,391, other service activities category with 34,564, and administrative and support with 33,703.
Region IV-A continued to lead with the highest number of registrations at 175, 048, which is nearly a fifth of the total.
The National Capital Region (NCR) came in second with 150,355, followed by Region III with 122,523, Region VI with 62,927, and Region VII with 56,706.
Completing the other half in the top ten are Region I with 50,957, , Region XI with 37,242, Region II with 34,855, Region X with 33,825, and Region V with 32,455.
The DTI began the full implementation of its online business name registration process in a bid to streamline listing processes.
Businesses can apply online through the DTI’s Business Name Registration Services (BNRS) website at https://bnrs.dti.gov.ph or by going to the various DTI’s Negosyo Centers across the country.
