AI-powered insights drive stronger sales for sari-sari stores

Insider Spotlight

• AI-powered inventory planning helped sari-sari stores raise median sales of their top 50 products by 79 percent within two months
• Stores using Packworks’ Store Insighting Project recorded a 29-percent rise in median total sales and a 20 percent increase in transactions
• The initiative is backed by government and private-sector partners to expand AI adoption among micro-retailers nationwide

Filipino technology startup Packworks reported that sari-sari stores using artificial intelligence-driven inventory insights achieved significantly stronger sales performance, highlighting the growing role of data analytics in grassroots retail. 

The company said stores leveraging its Store Insighting Project (SIP) posted a 79-percent increase in median sales of their top 50 products.

The findings were drawn from more than one million monthly transactions across Packworks’ network of 300,000 micro-retailers. 

According to the report, median gross merchandise value (GMV) sales for top-selling products climbed from P187,229 to P335,818 per store within two months of adopting the platform.

Why it matters

The results suggest that AI-powered recommendations are helping small neighborhood retailers improve stock management and respond more effectively to changing consumer demand, an area traditionally dominated by larger retail chains with access to sophisticated analytics.

“I increased my orders for the Top 10 products identified in the SIP document,” sari-sari store owner Elizabeth Veluz said in a press statement.

The report also found that stores using SIP insights recorded a 47 percent increase in median GMV sales of seasonal products, indicating improved anticipation of demand during rainy days, weekends, and other peak purchasing periods.

By the numbers

Packworks said store owners were also able to improve the performance of slower-moving inventory. 

Median GMV sales for these products increased by 96 percent, from P7,361.60 to P14,429, as retailers used SIP recommendations to push underperforming items and improve inventory turnover.

“The report helps us identify products that will sell well so we can stock more and avoid running out,” store owner Lucia Bongot said.

Overall, stores using the platform recorded a 29-percent increase in median total sales and a 20-percent rise in the median number of transactions. 

“Our findings show that when data is democratized, we give grassroots entrepreneurs the power to chart their own growth,” Packworks chief data officer Andoy Montiel said.

Packworks said the SIP project was developed through the Department of Science and Technology–Philippine Council for Industry, Energy and Emerging Technology Research and Development Startup Grant Fund program and is supported by partners including ST Telemedia Global Data Centres Philippines and Ateneo BUILD. —Vanessa Hidalgo| Ed: Corrie S. Narisma