Pinoy shopping habits

Margie Quimpo-Espino of the Inquirer sent questions to the country's top retailers to see if Filipinos have adjusted their buying habits:

Has there been a shift in what people are buying these days because of the rice crisis and the rice in fuel prices? Are people buying less or buying the same of lower priced items? Are brands still important to consumers or price is the only decision-making factor these days? What products are the winners these days?"

Shopwise was the only big retailer which sent out a written reply. Vice President for Marketing Frances Yu noted that, "Gas and bigas seem to be the biggest foes facing Filipinos today." Pinoys buy the basics: sugar, oil, canned goods, noodles and fresh items continue to do well. They know what their priorities are and drop the toys, gadget and clothes. Yu also noted the trend of downtrading: drop the name brand and go for the same product that carries the lower price tag. Use less fabric conditioner. Shift from Dinorado to Sinandomeng rice. Make your escabeche out of tilapia and not the lapu-lapu. 

While consumers are ready to make concessions, it seems the Pinoy can't let go of one thing: snacks. Yu claims that the snack category has grown steadily amid the crisis, five years running. New products introduced to the market help--Coke Zero supposedly revitalized the drinks industry. We can let go of the fabric conditioner, but we must have our merienda. Are we eating because we are hungry, or is this stress eating? Very interesting indeed.