Christy Balita
Research expert covering the Philippines
Food retail industry in the Philippines - statistics & facts
The Philippines has a vibrant food retailing scene, which includes a range of traditional retailers and modern grocery channels. With the expansion of food and grocery delivery and growth in e-commerce adaptation, the sales value of food and beverage retailers in the Philippines is expected to sustain growth in the following years.
Retail sales on modern retailing channels such as hypermarkets and warehouse clubs have also been seeing year-on-year growth. Modern retailing has been taking off, especially as such outlets continue to expand in other cities and provinces nationwide. Hypermarkets have also been expanding to rural provinces. Puregold was the leading hypermarket in the Philippines, followed by SM Hypermarket and Super8 Grocery Warehouse.
Although modern retail channels have dominated the food retailing scene, traditional retail continues to fill in the immediate demand for essential goods of consumers. Among the most popular retail channels were sari-sari stores, usually located within the shopkeeper’s residence. They typically apply a 10 percent markup and allow customers to buy items in units rather than the whole package. For example, customers can purchase a lower-price sachet instead of an entire bottle of soy sauce.
Popular food retail channels
As of 2022, informal traditional retailers emerged as the most popular retail outlet accounting for nearly half of the total food retail sales in the Philippines. Traditional grocery retailers include family-owned grocery chains, sari-sari stores, and informal merchants such as street vendors, and wet and dry markets. Meanwhile, supermarkets held about a quarter of the total food retail sales, offering a range of products, both fresh and pre-packaged, at market prices. Ranked by sales, Robinsons Supermarket was the leading supermarket in the Philippines, followed closely by SM Supermarket and Savemore Supermarket.Retail sales on modern retailing channels such as hypermarkets and warehouse clubs have also been seeing year-on-year growth. Modern retailing has been taking off, especially as such outlets continue to expand in other cities and provinces nationwide. Hypermarkets have also been expanding to rural provinces. Puregold was the leading hypermarket in the Philippines, followed by SM Hypermarket and Super8 Grocery Warehouse.
Although modern retail channels have dominated the food retailing scene, traditional retail continues to fill in the immediate demand for essential goods of consumers. Among the most popular retail channels were sari-sari stores, usually located within the shopkeeper’s residence. They typically apply a 10 percent markup and allow customers to buy items in units rather than the whole package. For example, customers can purchase a lower-price sachet instead of an entire bottle of soy sauce.
Digitalization of food and beverage retail
Even before the pandemic, there was a notable shift to digital platforms across various retail outlets. With the introduction of different payment methods and the improving online presence of grocery stores and hypermarkets, consumers are shifting to e-commerce platforms for most purchases, mainly groceries, and medicines. In 2021, the e-commerce sales of food and beverage increased by 130 percent in comparison to the previous year. In addition, other supermarkets are also offering self-checkout counters to accommodate an increasing preference for safe and convenient shopping.
