‘Sari-sari’ stores heed school needs
“Sari-sari” stores are opening and expanding their inventories to offer “tingi,” or small quantities, of school supplies, with the opening of the new school year.
This is the latest insight from Filipino tech startup Packworks.io, which analyzed more than a million monthly sales transactions from its network of 300,000 plus sari-sari stores nationwide via its mobile app and business intelligence tool, Sari IQ.
Packworks’ data reveal that the number of stores near schools, those within the 400-meter radius or about 500 steps away, grew by 31 percent from 71,000 in 2023 to 95,000 last year.
Data further suggest that sari-sari stores benefited significantly from their inventory strategies during the school season. In 2023, stores experienced a 30-percent increase in sales in August, which coincided with the start of the school year. The trend accelerated in 2024, with stores recording a 130-percent sales surge in July, ahead of the July 29 start of the school year. For the current school season in 2025, stores generated a 71 percent sales spike in June.
Packworks chief data officer Andoy Montiel explains that the data point to a trend of more frequent but smaller purchases.
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