You are in the middle of cooking something for supper while enjoying the aroma of sauteed onions and garlic. You poured in the meat and other ingredients when you realized the salt container is empty! OMG! Whatda! What to do?
Well, no need to worry. The sari-sari store got you covered. The most basic things you need, you can find there. You just need to walk for a minute or two to buy the things you need at the moment.
What is a Sari-sari Store?
The word sari-sari is a Filipino word which means variety. A sari-sari store is a small variety store found in the neighborhood. It is owned and managed by local residents. It is very common here in the Philippines. This is one way for the residents to have their own small business. A sari-sari store is usually constructed in front of the owner's house. Just a small room or space to display their products. You can find these stores just pretty much everywhere. It can be on the roadside, at the corner of a street, in the inner parts of the the community. Where there are people living in the area, you can always find a sari-sari store.
Products Sold and Services offered in a Sari-sari Store
The most basic products are found in a sari-sari store. Products that people use everyday are sold in small amounts and pieces. You cannot buy in bulk there.
Food Products
Food products such as rice, eggs, canned goods, noodles, milk, coffee, sugar, salt, biscuits, candies,soy sauce, vinegar and bread, these are the products that are a staple in the community. So store owners make sure they have an ample supply of these products. Some stores sell vegetables, fruits, spices such as onions and garlic, and some frozen products such as hotdogs.
Toiletries
Feeling the need to take a bath and clean but you are out shampooo? Bath soap, shampoo, toothpaste, detergent soaps, bleach, or dishwashing soap, all these you can buy in a sari-sari stores mostly in sachet packs. Sanitary pads and baby diapers can be bought by piece.
Other Products
Other products depends on the location of the sari-sari store. If it is located near a school, you can probably buy paper products, ballpens, pencils, and other school supplies. If it is near a church, they would sell candles. If the people in the community grow poultry and livestock, they would sell poultry and livestock feeds. It really depends on what are the needs of the community.
E-loading Stations
Nowadays, mostly everybody has a cellphone may it be a burner phone or android or ios phones. Since not everybody can afford a postpaid load and postpaid plan for internet connection, your go to place to buy prepaid load is in the sari-sari store. You can buy load as low as 10 pesos (0.16&) to get connected through call and text and internet through data connection. It depends on promos offered by the network providers.
Cash Transfer Services
Transfering cash has become so convenient through Gcash, a popular e-wallet powered by Globe Telecom. If you have a cellphone and a verified Gcash account then, transfering cash is so easy and convenient wherever you are in the country. To cash in or cash out these funds, some sari-sari stores provide these services. You just need to pay for a charge of 20% of the amount you want to cash in or cash out. Or if you don't have a Gcash account, they can provide for the cash transfer using their account to send money for you.
Piso Wifi
Piso wifi has become more popular these days and I noticed most sari-sari stores also provide this services. Piso wifi is like a wifi vending machine. You just drop a coin to this piso wifi machine and you will has access to the internet. The duration of the internet connection depends on how much coin you drop on the machine. 1 Php (0.02$) is 6 minutes internet access, 5 Php (0.09$) = 1 hour access and 10 Php (0.16$) = 3 hours. No wonder this has become popular because it is affordable.
It is really convenient to have a sari-sari store near you. I am glad there is one near to where I reside so when I suddenly need to buy something when I am hungry or out of grocery stock then I'll just run to the sari-sari store. I only go to the market every weekend so there is always a time when I consumed some of my of grocery items at home. Another good thing about it is that if you are out of cash, you can ask the owner to let you buy now, pay later (we call it utang muna) since they know you and they can trust you. Just make sure to pay those utang so you won't break their trust and can make another utang next time. 😁
This is my #MarketFriday. Thank you 
Have wonderful weekend everyone. Abd thanks for dropping by.