26 April 2023, Manila, Philippines – Packworks, a startup company providing a business-to-business (B2B) platform for sari-sari store owners, in collaboration with Fourth Wall, a socio-cultural research firm, has released data revealing that ordinary Filipinos prioritize personal hygiene and food in their market basket in times of impending shortage of resources or “petsa de peligro,” as well as during payday. The data, based on Sari IQ, Packworks’ data analytics platform, compares the demand for sari-sari store products on the 14th and 29th days of each month against the daily average for the year 2022.
Examining data from 24 periods (i.e., every 14th and 29th of all the 12 months) in 2022, personal hygiene products such as shampoo, body soap, and alcohol increased most frequently, growing at 11 periods in a year. Ready-to-eat food such as canned meat, powdered coffee, soy sauce, and soda mirrored personal hygiene products’ growth, rising within the same periods.
Based on the gathered data from Sari IQ, the top 5 categories during the petsa de peligro are shampoo (11%), detergent (8%), body soap (8%), canned meat (7%), and alcohol (7%), while the top 5 categories during payday are detergent (9%), canned fish and seafood (7%), sanitary pad (7%), canned meat (6%), and baby powder (6%).
The trend is consistent even on payday, with personal hygiene and ready-to-eat food products experiencing a rise in demand most consistently, while the top 5 categories during pay day are detergent (9%), canned fish and seafood (7%), sanitary pad (7%), canned meat (6%), and baby powder (6%).
John Brylle L. Bae, Research Director of Fourth Wall, notes that the tendency to equally prioritize hygiene products and essential goods is deeply rooted in the Filipino psyche and culture, which associates cleanliness with honor or “hiya”. Keeping oneself clean is preserving one’s and his family’s honor, while untidiness is a manifestation of disrepute or “walang hiya“. As “hiya” is foundational in the Filipino psyche, it is a foremost consideration, equalling importance with essentials such as food. The data, therefore, suggests that retailers and marketers should also be mindful of deep-seated, sociocultural-driven fears such as the fear of losing one’s honor or “hiya”.
“We are thrilled to unveil our latest findings from Sari IQ, which highlight the importance of personal hygiene and ready-to-eat food items in the Filipino market basket, particularly during times of scarcity and payday,” Andres Montiel, Chief Data Officer of Packworks said. “These insights, stemming from the deeply-rooted concept of ‘hiya’ in Filipino culture, emphasize the need for retailers and marketers to cater to the socio-cultural-driven priorities of the Filipino people. Packworks is committed to empowering sari-sari store owners by providing them with valuable data that helps them better understand and serve their customers’ needs.”
