Sari-sari Stores See Sales Spikes After Record-Breaking Typhoon Season in PHL in 2024 - Packworks Study

3 September 2025 Manila, Philippines — Amidst the damages brought by a record-breaking typhoon season in the Philippines, sari-sari stores exhibited high resilience and a signal source of supply for neighboring communities affected by storms.

This is the latest insight from Filipino tech startup Packworks.io, which analyzed over a million monthly sales transactions from more than 300,000 sari-sari stores nationwide through its business intelligence platform, Sari IQ.

Packworks researched historical data from 2024 on sari-sari stores in some of the hardest-hit areas in the Philippines. Among those measured were Batangas from Region IV-A, Cagayan and Isabela from Region II, and Albay, Camarines Norte, Camarines Sur, and Catanduanes from Region V.

Data reveals that sari-sari stores in these areas saw an overall 27% increase in average daily gross merchandise value (GMV) and a 50% rise in transactions a month after six typhoons hit between October 23 and November 18.

The year 2024 holds the record for the most decommissioned names in a single season since the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical, and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) began the current naming scheme in 2001, with eight typhoon names due to the significant damage and destruction they caused.

These sales trends were driven mainly by the provinces located in the Bicol region, which saw a combined 50% spike during a typhoon and a further 26% increase in average daily GMV after a typhoon hit. The Bicol region, located on the southeastern part of Luzon, is one of the first major landmasses to be hit by typhoons entering the Philippine Area of Responsibility (PAR) and often bears the brunt of a typhoon's strength, creating an urgent need for supplies and driving increased demand for essential goods from sari-sari stores. Notably, Camarines Norte saw a staggering 105% increase in the average GMV after a typhoon hit.

“These data findings challenge the common belief that micro businesses are less resilient during bad weather conditions. Through presence and grit, our store owners have figured out how to persevere and even positively thrive amid natural calamities, creating real business value and opportunities while aiding in the community's recovery.” said Packworks Chief Data Officer Andoy Montiel.

Packworks' data also examined buying habits in sari-sari stores during typhoons compared to before they hit in the analyzed areas. Findings reveal that cigarettes and gin were the top-selling items during typhoons, suggesting a continued demand for these discretionary goods even in times of crisis. Gin saw the highest GMV percentage change, with a median increase of 14% among seven affected provinces, while cigarettes followed with a 12% median increase among six provinces. Meanwhile, easy-to-eat items were also top purchases, with powdered coffee recording a midpoint GMV increase of 10% in six provinces and biscuits a 2% GMV median increase in seven provinces.

There were further shifts in the buying trends after a typhoon hit, as communities began their recovery, notably detergent became one of the top-selling items across five provinces with a 7% GMV share, causing a temporary spike in demand for cleaning supplies for typhoon-stricken households. 

"With the uncertainty of climate change, our data analytics asserts the stable role of sari-sari stores as a reliable, responsive, and vital part of the grassroots retail ecosystem during a crisis. True to the idiom: ‘when it rains it pours’ – understanding these just-in-time, on-the-ground realities is key to informing businesses and policymakers with a prepared plan and help realize a more agile supply chain logistics to better serve communities when they need it most," Packworks Chief Platform Officer Hubert Yap said.

According to PAGASA, an average of 20 tropical cyclones enter PAR each year, with eight to nine typhoons making landfall in the country’s regions. The country is forecast to brace for 7 to 15 tropical cyclones from September 2025 to February 2026.

For info about Sari IQ and to uncover more seasonal data trends in sari-sari stores, you may visit http://packworks.io/ or Packworks’ Facebook page to learn more.

Store-Specific Planogram: AI-Driven Trend that Changes Retail Space Planning

In the retail industry, customer expectations are straightforward: they want to easily find the products they need and enjoy a hassle-free shopping experience. If a store falls short in these aspects, it risks losing its place as a preferred shopping destination for customers. That is precisely why the foundation of a great customer experience lies in effective space planning.

Commonly referred to as a planogram, space planning involves optimizing a store's layout and product placement to enhance customer experiences and increase sales. Effective strategies include positioning high-demand and seasonal items near the entrance, ensuring accessibility and visibility in key areas, and adapting layouts based on sales data and customer feedback.

In the Philippines, planogram preparation is mainly a manual process, although retailers use digital tools for sales data analysis. However, for larger retailers dealing with extensive data and numerous products, manual adjustments can become overwhelming. 

Through advanced tech, retail space planning driven by artificial intelligence is now possible. This is in the form of store-specific planograms. RELEX Solutions, a leading supply chain and retail solutions provider, shares its insights on this emerging trend.

“A store-specific or local planogram is one designed for a particular store or location.  Unlike a standardized planogram that may be used for multiple stores, a local planogram takes into account the unique characteristics of a specific store, such as its layout, customer demographics, and sales data,” said Donald “DJ” Felbaum, Head of Sales for the Philippines at RELEX Solutions. “It is tailored to the individual needs and conditions of that particular location to optimize product placement and merchandising to drive sales and improve customer service.”

However, it is often seen as challenging and time-consuming due to the anticipation of lengthy, costly, and uncertain implementation projects. For instance, imagine a retailer with 1,000 stores, each needing weekly updates to five planograms. If one planner creates ten planograms daily, it would require an impractical workforce of 100 planners, along with ongoing training. But the integration of AI and machine learning automation can address these challenges. AI-powered automation can help users configure parameters and apply them across thousands of planograms, saving costs and avoiding additional expenses related to inventory adjustments for layout and local consumer preferences.

The benefits of AI-generated local planogram optimization also include precise store shelf configuration and a one-touch replenishment model. This approach, which enables immediate stacking of incoming stock onto display units, facilitates one-way inventory that results in cost reduction by eliminating the need for staff to transport excess stock to back rooms, enhancing the efficient use of available storage space, and reducing restock frequency of fast-selling products. 

Furthermore, AI and machine learning automation usher in interactive, standardized merchandising reports. These insights unveil concealed issues and provide both macro and micro data perspectives, empowering retailers to proactively optimize product placement, fine-tune pricing, and enhance inventory management. 

Store-specific planograms epitomize the future of space retail planning, optimizing product placement, and enhancing customer satisfaction. Harnessing advanced technology in retail, this tailored approach allows retailers to adapt swiftly to market changes, leading to elevated customer experience, improved profitability, and fostering brand loyalty.

Carousell Brings Community Groups Together for Orphans of Ti-Ratana Welfare Society

Carousell, one of the world’s largest and fastest growing classifieds marketplaces, brought Star Wars Malaysia Fan Club (SWMFC), Easy Parcel, Pgeon Delivery and various influencers together to Ti-Ratana Welfare Society (Ti-Ratana) in Salak South today as part of their ongoing #PrelovedwithLove donation drive to treat the orphans to an array of fun activities.

The drive was launched recently by Carousell for selected charities across its seven markets and over 40 orphans from Ti-Ratana were treated with a day of fun-filled activities such as Light SabreTraining by SWMFC along with caricature and Sand Art.

“We are delighted to receive tremendous support from the public and the various fan clubs for this drive. Our platform can do more than just assist Malaysians to buy and sell, but also gather the power of the community for worthy causes. Community is at the heart of everything that is Carousell and we hope that more Malaysians will join us in our efforts to build a stronger community to help the orphans of Ti-Ratana,” said Tang Siew Wai, Country Head of Carousell Malaysia.

“Carousell has set a precedent by leveraging on technology to connect people all across Malaysia for this worthy cause. I am very confident that this will open more doors for us to obtain the items that we need through public participation. We would like to thank everyone that has contributed to this campaign, and we hope that more will utilise this platform to help those in need,” said Datuk K. Sri Dhammaratana, founder of Ti-Ratana.  

Ti-Ratana is a community service society that was set up in the spirit of compassion to both serve and provide shelter, education and care to the underprivileged. It is also a voluntary, not-for-profit, non-partisan and non-denominational organisation offering a wide scope of community services.

Members of the public who are interested in participating in the campaign can list their items on Carousell with the hashtag #PrelovedwithLove tagged with an RM0 price tag. Members of the Ti-Ratana will select the items needed from the listings where EasyParcel will collect and deliver the items on a complimentary basis.

For more information and to participate in the campaign, visit https://my.carousell.com or 

download the Carousell app on Apple Store or Google Play Store.

About Carousell

Carousell is a classifieds marketplace that makes selling as easy as taking a photo, buying as simple as chatting. Launched in August 2012, Carousell began in Singapore and now has a presence in seven markets across Asia. With over 171 million listings, we are one of the world’s largest and fastest growing marketplaces in Southeast Asia, Taiwan and Hong Kong, and is backed by Rakuten Ventures, Sequoia India, 500 Startups, Golden Gate Ventures, DBS and EDBI. In Malaysia, Carousell has a diverse range of products in 34 categories, including fashion & beauty, lifestyle gadgets and muslimah fashion. Download the app for iOS or Android, and visit www.carousell.com for more information.

About Ti-Ratana Welfare Society

Ti-Ratana Welfare Society is a charitable organisation registered on 9th February 1994 under the Registrar of Societies Act. It has a President and committee elected yearly by its members to oversee its operations, with Chief High Priest Most Ven. Datuk K. Sri Dhammaratana Nayake Maha Thera as its Founder and Advisor.