{"id":2984,"date":"2016-07-30T10:00:20","date_gmt":"2016-07-30T02:00:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/primer.com.ph\/tips-guides\/?p=2984"},"modified":"2021-07-04T21:08:05","modified_gmt":"2021-07-04T13:08:05","slug":"expat-guide-sari-sari-stores","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/primer.com.ph\/tips-guides\/2016\/07\/30\/expat-guide-sari-sari-stores\/","title":{"rendered":"What’s a Sari-Sari Store: PH’s small neighborhood retail shop"},"content":{"rendered":"

Convenience stores are the norm across the globe. They\u2019re open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and are often seen as saviors for anyone who\u2019s looking for almost anything they might need: food, drink, gas (most convenience stores are found in gas stations), etc.<\/span><\/p>\n

Convenience stores are rising in popularity in the Philippines, but it can\u2019t quite replace what Filipinos have turned to for some of their daily needs: the humble sari-sari <\/em>store. But what exactly is a sari-sari <\/em>store, and why do Filipinos turn to them for their daily needs?<\/span><\/p>\n

What is a sari-sari<\/em><\/strong> store?<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\"sari-sari<\/span>A BASIC SARI-SARI STORE. When you hear a Filipino ask someone to go to a sari-sari store, this is where they go to. (Photo by <\/em>Brian Evans via flickr<\/em>)<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

A sari-sari <\/em>store is a small neighborhood retail shop that caters to members of that community. The store usually carries basic goods such as canned food, instant noodles, coffee, soda, and other things that Filipinos get on a daily basis. They also sell candy, chips, and beer, but can have literally anything commodity the community needs.<\/span><\/p>\n

The name comes from the Filipino term for variety (sari)<\/em>. Every sari-sari<\/em> store you visit may offer similar products, but the number of products they carry will always be as varied as a glass of halo-halo<\/em>.<\/span><\/p>\n

Sari-sari<\/em> stores nowadays also become your go-to prepaid mobile loading station, thanks to the popularity of smartphones.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Who owns\/operates the store?<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\"sari-sari<\/span>MEET THE OWNERS. Okay, we\u2019re not 100% sure they actually own the store, but this depicts your typical ownership set-up for any sari-sari store. (Photo by <\/em>Brian Evans via flickr<\/em>)<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0Sari-sari<\/em> stores are typically owned and operated by a mother whose sole purpose for putting up the store is to augment their family income. Most sari-sari<\/em> stores become a small family business, with other members of the family pitching in.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0Why do Filipinos like having sari-sari <\/em>stores so much?<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\"sari-sariTINGI. It\u2019s the one thing you\u2019ll be able to do at a sari-sari store that you won\u2019t be able to do elsewhere: get a stick of cigarette, a piece of candy, or a few milliliters of cooking oil without having to buy a whole pack or a bottle. (Photo by <\/em>burgermac via flickr<\/em>)<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The best thing about the sari-sari <\/em>store is the ability of people to buy things tingi<\/em> or per piece. Sari-sari <\/em>stores are the only place where you can buy a piece of candy or a stick of cigarette instead of having to buy a pack of each.<\/span><\/p>\n

Prices are also more affordable than convenience stores (but more expensive than supermarkets) because most of them are run from the owner\u2019s own home. They don\u2019t profit much from the business venture, though; most of their stock comes from supermarkets, and they only have a 1 or 2-peso markup on everything they sell.<\/span><\/p>\n

It\u2019s also more accessible from a financial perspective. Most people know exactly who the sari-sari<\/em> store owner is, and will often befriend them so they can ask for credit for some of their purchases. It\u2019s not healthy for business, but it lets the store owner become a vital part of the community.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"sari-sariLOST? Your best bet is to go to a sari-sari store. The people who frequent these stores are locals, so they\u2019ll likely know where you\u2019re headed. It\u2019s also ideal if you\u2019re looking for someone who\u2019s lost. (Photo by <\/em>Brian Evans<\/em>)<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

These stores also become a gathering place of sorts, thus being a good place to find people. Most sari-sari <\/em>stores are put up because a certain area lacks access to these everyday goods. If yours is the only place that sells these everyday goods, chances are people will flock to your store every day, making it ideal for anyone who\u2019s looking for someone.<\/span><\/p>\n

It\u2019s this combination of convenience and community service that separates sari-sari <\/em>stores from convenience stores like 7-11 and Ministop. Profit won\u2019t be much, since these mothers are usually housewives without any real business education.<\/span><\/p>\n

Companies like Hapinoy, however, are helping out these moms by giving them education, access to capital, and a way of branching out to new lines of business that would hopefully remove the need to depend on the small but highly valued sari-sari<\/em> store for their income.<\/span><\/p>\n

Got other questions about the sari-sari <\/em>store? Hit us up in the comments section below.<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

Source: <\/em>hapinoy.com
\n<\/em><\/a>Inages grabbed from <\/em>Brian Evans via flickr<\/em><\/a>, <\/em>burgermac via flickr<\/a><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Here’s what you need to know about that humble convenience store you see in your neighborhood.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":2987,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1730,1729],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2984","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-culture-and-history","category-everyday-life-hacks"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/primer.com.ph\/tips-guides\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2984","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/primer.com.ph\/tips-guides\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/primer.com.ph\/tips-guides\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/primer.com.ph\/tips-guides\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/primer.com.ph\/tips-guides\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2984"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/primer.com.ph\/tips-guides\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2984\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9296,"href":"https:\/\/primer.com.ph\/tips-guides\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2984\/revisions\/9296"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/primer.com.ph\/tips-guides\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2987"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/primer.com.ph\/tips-guides\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2984"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/primer.com.ph\/tips-guides\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2984"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/primer.com.ph\/tips-guides\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2984"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}