Sari IQ to help retailers understand consumer spending patterns in sari-sari stores

Philippine-based startup Packworks has officially launched its business intelligence tool Sari IQ which provides data analytics on the behavior and spending habits of consumers who buy their needs in traditional “mom-and-pop stores” known locally as “sari-sari” stores.

Packworks Co-founder and Chief Marketing Officer Ibba Bernardo announced the platform launch at the IMMAP DigiCon Valley 2022 held virtually on October 11, 2022.

The Sari IQ dashboard provides real-time and historic information on consumer spending and can be configured to develop an analysis for product types sold in small retail formats. It gives retailers and multinational brands complete visibility into sari-sari stores’ operations, allowing them to extend their slow-moving products and services to a wider pool of customers. Analysis through the platform also helps them come up with data-driven decisions to increase sales of sari-sari store owners by understanding and predicting consumer demand within their area.

The platform tracks information from Packworks’ broad network of almost 200,000 sari-sari stores nationwide that use its super app called ‘Super Sari Store’.

“Sari IQ is the trusted, go-to partner for sari-sari stores that empowers businesses to be on top of their brand’s performance and make data-driven decisions every day,” Packworks Chief Data Officer Andres Montiel said.

In its latest study, Sari IQ showed that Filipinos tend to care more about their hygiene than their empty stomach as they prioritize buying self-care products such as hair shampoo and conditioner in sari-sari stores located in areas previously battered by natural calamities — Typhoon “Odette” in December 2021 (Leyte), the Taal volcanic eruption in March 2022 (Batangas/Cavite), and the 7.0 magnitude earthquake in July 2022 (Abra).

Following the wrath of Super Typhoon Karding last September 25, Montiel noted that spikes and shifts in the buying pattern of consumers would change depending on available supplies and access to supply replenishment of affected sari-sari stores.

“The data that Sari IQ can be used as reference in building inference for marketing strategy, demand planning, and product seasonality,” Montiel explained.

Packworks, which raised a US$ 2M seed round for its mobile ERP platform last August, started out as a solution for multinational companies in the Philippines in 2018 with only a few sari-sari store partners. It is now on course to expand its network to 220,000 stores by the end of 2022.