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MANILA -- Priorities have shifted for Filipinos when it comes to spending for Mother's Day, according to research.
Data analytics platform Packworks conducted a study with the socio-cultural research firm Fourth Wall to compare consumer behavior on Mother's Day in 2021 and 2023. They looked at purchases in over 200,000 sari-sari stores in the country through Packworks' business intelligence tool, Sari IQ.
They excluded data from 2022 due to potential consumption outliers, given the liquor ban implemented on the eve of the May 9 elections which coincided with Mother's Day.
The study showed that in 2021, ice cream as well as other comfort food and beverages saw the highest one-day rise in demand on Mother's Day at 212%. Other popular products that year include powder soup mix (113% growth), pasta (82%), alcoholic drinks (77%), and milk alternatives such as soy milk and flavored milk drinks (63%).
On the same event two years later, care and healthy alternative products became the most sought-after items in sari-sari stores. Demand for cultured drinks rose more than twice than that of the previous day at 250%, followed by hygiene products like astringent (210% growth), baby body wash (177%), and home protection pesticides (97%).
"The Sari IQ data highlights a significant shift in consumer preferences during Mother's Day, moving from indulgent comfort food to a focus on care products. The study gives us a picture from the grassroots level that there is a shift that signifies a remarkable transition towards prioritizing the well-being and thoughtful choices for oneself and loved ones during Mother's Day," Packworks advanced analytics and insights manager Arch Tesorero said in a statement.
Fourth Wall research director John Brylle Bae, for his part, said inflation is also an important factor to consider in the shift in Filipinos' spending priorities.
"The enormity of the inflationary difference could have adversely affected the demand for comfort food, even on occasions like Mother's Day, as it discouraged people from purchasing them," he said.
"Our socio-cultural context, predominantly family-centric, induces mothers to prioritize the interest of those under their care first before theirs under challenging circumstances such as higher inflation. Therefore, it is unsurprising that they would purchase care or home products for their loved ones rather than buy comfort food to celebrate their day."