8 Sari Sari Store Designs and Concepts


8 Sari Sari Store Designs and Concepts
Over the years, significant changes have been made on the way we do our retail business. From the traditional store-inside-the-house to the high-end convenience store, it has really been a testament of its huge following here in the Philippines.

We humbly became the ambassadors of retail sales or what we locally refer to as tingi.


While proper management and inventory is crucial to the success of your store, the concept and design will also affect the growth and direction of your business.

There are 8 Sari-sari store designs and concepts that you may want to consider when putting up one. This list was created to provide a little help to aspiring micro-entrepreneurs to decide which concept will best suit your budget, location, market and personality.

I've also included some of the good and the bad for each concept just to highlight how it can help you and your store.

Ready?

Pagbilaaaan...!

1. Store on Wheels

This type of store is typically located along places with high foot traffic and normally sells products for a specified target market.

Store on Wheels

Pros:
Mobility. All you need is a cart or a 3-wheeled bike and you're good to go! Your store can go practically anywhere where there's good foot traffic without spending a dime for gasoline.

Cons:

You only have limited items to sell and you might not be able to do business on days when there's flood or typhoon. Plus, running this kind of store will require serious muscles.

2. Corner Store
More widely known as the Convenience store, this store should be located on strategic spots, such as near gate entrances of subdivisions, schools, brgy. halls, etc.

Corner Store

Pros:
Easy inventory because of well managed shelves, you're not just selling products but convenience to your customers as well. It takes Juan's sari-sari store's buying experience to an all new level!

Cons:

Products are exposed to theft (though CCTV might help) and may require you to sell products on a higher price especially if you're renting.

3. Long-Counter Store
A concept of combined convenience store and traditional store, this type of store allows customers to enter the store, but not necessarily letting them pick the items themselves like in convenience stores. Instead, they pay at the counter table, which is usually long (hence, the name).

Long-Counter Store
 
Pros:
Customer gets to see all your items without worrying theft. The more items customers see, the more impulse buying you get from them (depends on the way you position your products). You can even use the shelf under the long counter (if it's made by fiber or glass) to display products or promos you want to emphasize to customers

4. Mini Grocery
A Big Brother version of the typical sari-sari store, a mini grocery attempts to be a one-stop shop to its customers. From the usual household needs to fresh produce, they got you covered!
 
Mini Grocery

Pros:
Since you're able to buy at high volumes, expect a higher profit margin compared when you do retail sales. Simply put, a grocery is the provider of small sari-sari store owners!

Cons:
You might encounter inventory issues because of shelf over-stacking. In some cases, you might overstock some products since most suppliers require grocery stores to purchase a certain quantity for a rebate or bulk discounts.   

5. Kiosk / Carts
This type of store is ideally place inside malls or transport terminals to cater the need for people looking for a quick grab of what they need in retail form.
 
Kiosk / Carts

 
Pros:
Cool, neat and catchy. If located on a place with good amount of foot traffic, can be very profitable because of relatively cheaper price compared to convenience stores and supermarkets.
 
Cons:
You have limited items to offer and will require rental costs. Plus, you need someone to man the store at all times.
  
6. Traditional / Nipa Hut Store

The store that probably started it all! Is there a place in the archipelago where you won't find one?

Traditional / Nipa Hut Store

 
Pros:
Oh, how about that classic ambiance that certainly makes every Juan want to rest and buy something to eat? This store sets the standard when it comes to retail fashion.

Cons:
Since it's a store in a friendly neighborhood, expect a lot of smokers to find this a convenient place to puff and let time pass by. This store comes second when it comes to exposure from customers who love to make utang.

7. Home Store
Closely similar to that of a typical or Nipa Hut store, the only striking difference is that it's actually attached to a house.

Home Store
 
Pros:
This concept has the lowest start-up cost in terms of physical structure needed and is the easiest and most practical way to open a sari-sari store business since there's no need to rent or build a store! All you need is a table and a window which will serve as your store's counter!

Cons:

This store has the highest exposure to credits since it's the first thing that comes at your neighbors' minds when they need something (and have nothing).

8. Portable / Cabinet Store
Last, but certainly not the least among the concepts is the portable or cabinet store. The concept is pretty much straight-forward, the store opens and closes like a cabinet.

Portable / Cabinet Store
Pros:
All you would ever need is a wooden cabinet and a little creativity on how you'll display all your products and that's it! It even looks like you're running a very good store even if you only shelled out a fraction for your capital because you only have so few shelves to fill in!
 
Cons:
New or wandering customers might think that you only sell limited items (those displayed on your cabinet) and might not even bother to ask if you sell this and that.

Do you have another store concept that is not included on my list? Share it below!

Do you own a store with one of the concepts I've mentioned? What are the advantages or disadvantages you see or experience from having one? Please comment them below! Let's help our fellow sari-sari store owners make their business grow! Cheers!

PisoandBeyond


What type of store do you want to have? Receive FREE updates on great articles like this when you subscribe to PisoandBeyond!

70 comments:

  1. how about on-line sari-sari stores??

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. hahaha Online sari-sari store??? you complete my day sir/mam

      Delete
    2. pwede nmn yan, mag offer ka ng delivery. Ingat lang sa mga frank call.

      Delete
    3. Best wall color for a sari sari store?

      Delete
  2. interesting list. nice post!

    ReplyDelete
  3. you saved my day! ive been looking for this the whole day today as my wife i and are eager to start our own business! thank you!

    ReplyDelete
  4. "This store (Home Store) has the highest exposure to credits since it's the first thing that comes at your neighbors' minds when they need something (and have nothing)." - SOOOO TRUE!!!!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Hi Julz,

    Your welcome and thanks for visiting my blog. Good luck to your business! ^_^

    ReplyDelete
  6. We display our products like a bazaare / tiangge style at our garage since we want the costumer feel that they are not buying in a typical sarisari store. Just to give them a pleasant sight

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks for your input, Ian!

      Hmm..shall we call yours a "garage store"? ^_^

      Delete
  7. what is the lucky color for a sari sari store? hehehe

    ReplyDelete
  8. thank you for giving us such a great ideas in creating a design in building up a sari-sari store

    ReplyDelete
  9. I am looking for a characteristics or a parameters of a successful sari sari store. How do we know if the store is successful?

    ReplyDelete
  10. If you have a grocery store,you may add "Just Text and We Deliver" service on the list. It has the same concept with the Store on Wheels but you don't need to go out on streets without sure buyers. Targets for this concept are the sari-sari store owners, canteens and videoke houses. But you have to consider the distance of your customers as well because you might decide whether or not to charge them for the delivery cost. - Ino.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Great idea ^_^ I think this will mostly fit in cities (likes the neighbor stores in Makati) since distance is within reach and people are busier. But it's also a great idea to incorporate this within stores in provinces, you just have to plan carefully how do you want to charge them your delivery service. Thanks for the wonderful addition! Cheers!

      Delete
  11. :-) It is better to use product in sari store I own or buy my personl use iin marlet

    ReplyDelete
  12. nice post, been in the sari-sari store business for 4 years now and it is doing well, have two grown ups 1 in college (nursing student) and the other is in a private high school, i have monthly hulugan sa axa investment, may binabayaran na sss every month, may pag-ibig, may philhealth pa, biruin mo nakapag set aside pa kami on the average of 25k sa savings account naming mag asawa, tapos may stocks investment pa akong 2.5.k buwan buwan...lahat ng yan sa sari sari store namin kinuha....

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Wow! That's very inspiring to hear. Congrats for having a great sari-sari store business ^_^ and More Power to your future plans! :)

      Delete
    2. share your secret naman.. hahaha

      Delete
    3. sir tip naman jan pano mo ginawa yun?

      Delete
    4. Magkano ang magandang starting ng puhonan sa sari sari store..

      Delete
    5. Gusto ko sana nasa bahay lang kaso,prone sa utang.. any advice here

      Delete
  13. AnonymousMay 25, 2015

    I love your article and tips about sari-sari store. I got lots of ideas as well. We just opened October of 2014 so we're 7 months old now. I was resigned 2 years ago to be a freelancer (work from home) so some of those that payment I had, I keep it and together with my mom, we build our sari-sari store (home store). In 7 months, we got more products. Sabi nga ng iba, it is like mini-grocery. My plan is to make it bigger like a grocery or wholesale and retail in 2 years time. What I am doing to prepare on that is I apply the 50 pesos weekly (then add another 50 (50+50=100) for next week then so on and so forth). I also had kept 300 daily so when we reach 100 days, we will use that to buy bulk products. By God's grace, maayos na naman yung daloy ng paninda namin, I kept 1k daily para sa mga grocery/replenishment, daily we only have like 1.5-2k na nagpabilhan. I think in order na maging successful yung store, pay on whatever you get in there for your personal use, huwag magpapautang (so far, we only have 1 neighbor hood na umuutang pero weekly yung bayad nya), set a goal na mangarap kang maging mas malaki at dumami yung paninda mo, set aside money for the future or emergency (yung 50 pesos system na naitatabi ko weekly, yun yung pang emergency and plan in the future namin pero ibabalik din. Minsan may family na nanghihiram though hindi naman kami humihingi ng tubo pero nagbibigay ng additional kapag nagbayad, pero sa family lang ito kaya lumalaki pa yung perang naitabi). I will say, I am seeing our store to become bigger talaga in few years time. Make a plan, control yourself on spending a lot, aralin din maigi ang mga bibilhing paninda kung magkano tubo (hindi kami nagtutubo ng masyadong mataas, sabi ng karamihan mura kami. Well, better kasi para mabilis yung flow ng money pati inventory namin), at seryosohin ang pagtitinda, saka good customer service (or kung hindi maiwasan, i-handle ng tama ang customer, huwag makipagbiruan at close masyado para hindi mautangan at asar-asarin ka, basta may respeto palagi, mapabata man o matanda). I hope for every stores success as well.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. AnonymousMay 25, 2015

      I-add ko pa pala, bukod sa huwag magpautang, huwag din umutang. Madami kasing mga tindahan dito sa area namin, halos magkakatbi lang, pero yung iba, mga 5 years, nagsasara na. Kasi nangungutang sila, kadalasan sa Bumbay, so minsan nangyayari kapag utang yung puhunan mo sa tindahan, yung kinikita mo, ibinabayad mo lang para sa utang. Dapat i-manage maigi ang budget mo. Again huwag mangutang, kahit pangarap mong lumaki, unti-untiin mo lang dagdag at umisip ng strategy para lumaki at lumago pa yung kita mo. Humanap rin ng mga wholesale store na pinakamura para maka-compete ka sa presyuhan. So far, sabi ng iba simula daw nung nagbukas kami, 2 tindahan daw yung napataob namin (yung halos wala nang mga item sa tindahan),. But I rather say, hindi kami yung dahilan, kasi nga naka-depende sila na mangutang sa Bumbay, etc. kaya nagkakaganun. Isa pa, wala kaming tindang alak at sigarilyo pala, so sa kanila na talaga iyon.

      Delete
    2. Wow! I must say that you nailed it right there! Congrats for a job well done on your store so far. Keep it up, and thank you for sharing your personal opinions and tips to other store-owners out there! =)

      Delete
    3. I just started my store last Sept. As I am overseas I have my two grand nephew and nag babantay at namimili ng mga paninda. nahihirapan ako sa inventory ng mga items kasi hindi naman nag iiventory ng mahusay ang mga anak ng pamangkin ko. Gusto ko sanang bumili ng POS para mas makita ko if I am making money or not. sinuswelduhan ko rin yung dalawa kong pamangkin. I think I am lost kung kumikita yung store ko. puno pa naman yung aking tindahan at hindi pa naman ako nag dag dag ng puhunan since I opened the store. Do you have a suggestion to me I can better control the financial set up of the store. my dream is to start a chain of mini mart in my home town but it seems it's difficult if I am not really there in Philippines.

      Delete
  14. AnonymousJuly 12, 2015

    I just newly opened my sari sari store.. and i am thinking on how to save. thank you for the idea of 10%, i will start saving 10% tomorrow. And also i don't sell liquor, as i hate neighbors fighting coz they are drunk.. :-)

    ReplyDelete
  15. maraming salamat po sa site na to, marami pong nasagot s mga tanong ko. on and off po kc ang sari-sari store ko. pag-uwi ko po magbubukas po ko ulit ng store ko. mahirap lng po kc probinsya at halos kamag- anak ang mga kapitbahay. ang daming nangungutang. may naisip po kong paraan na kahit po mangutang sila kikita prin ako. bale pwede po kaya tong naisip ko na magbigay ako ng limitasyon na uutangin nila like pag umabot na ng 300 pesos isang sakong palay na po ang ibabayad nila. kaso naisip ko kc mejo mtgl pa kc ang anihan so pano kung kylangan ko ng mamili po ulit san po ko kukuha ng puhunan?? nalilito po ko. pls help me po. tungkol po sa inventory, ano po un??? ano po ang iniimbentaryo??? un po b ung kung ilan items n lng ang nttira product item at don malalaman kung magkano ng kinikita mo? pls help me po to understand.thank u po.

    ReplyDelete
  16. I got great ideas from you, especially, because Ia
    m a neophyte in this small business.

    ReplyDelete
  17. I want to get some ideas or concept of a sari sari store, nagbranch out na kz ako haha! Kidding aside, I'm in a Sari sari store business for about 6 years now, almost like the age of my son. Sa totoo lang hirap din kmi sa buhay noon,and putting up a sari sari store, ang naging option namin ng husband ko para makadagdag sa income. We started from scratch,as other might always say, napakaliit LNG tlga ng puhunan nmin, we used our living room as our store. Yung window namin na jalousie tinanggalan nmin ng ilang blades and voala! May tindahan na kame. We experienced ups and downs din sa pagtitinda namin dahil konti LNG paninda nmin that time,we really tried hard as in, really hard just to make it work. At siguro dhil na rin sa tyaga sipag at malaking porsyento ng Dasal. Unti unti nadagdagan n paninda ko,from some pieces of canned goods and instant noodles at pailan ilang tsitsirya,hanggang makapagpundar ng ref at makapagtinda na rin ng mga softdrinks,may loading business din and others. Now finally, naipatayo ko na rin ang aking sari Sari store. Hindi na sa living room,kadugtong pa din ng bahay pero may sarili na syang pinto haha! Thank you LORD! just to share this PRA sa mga gustong magtayo din ng sari sari store.

    ReplyDelete
  18. I learned so much from this blog and i finally realized where did my mom go wrong in this field of biz.. I learned that the heart of any business lies within the management of stock handling and inventory. Without it you will not be able to sell something and hear the needs of your customers. Thanks! I lear a lot from here!

    ReplyDelete
  19. I hope mkapundar din ako ng kahit maliit muna na tindahan.At maipalago ko ito unti2x.How I wish

    ReplyDelete
  20. I hope mkapundar din ako ng kahit maliit muna na tindahan.At maipalago ko ito unti2x.How I wish

    ReplyDelete
  21. Hi Jeff

    I am planning to "join in" to one of my friends in further inproving his sari sari store. He already has an existing one, so basically, me joining them is simply like me buying out some of his so called stocks making me a stock holder.

    The sari sari store is being run by his mom and with the way he described it, is that there are some neighbor who do ask for credit.

    In addition it is located not in the city proper thus making their spot rather on the isolated one.

    Question is this. I am preparing a 30K investment on his sari sari store.

    I want to make it work. We are planning, yes, the sari sari store plus adding piggery farm (barako and inahin) to start growing piglets anf selling them eventually.

    From your standpoint, what can you recommend to further stabilize our position as store owners.

    Oh and by the way, the article you wrote hits right at the spot!

    The sari sari store is located in the province. So the anticipation of its ROI is somewhat slow.

    Hoping to hear from you.

    Thank you.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Michael,

      Sincere apologies for being WAAAAAY tooooo late to respond. I missed this!!

      Anyway, sounds a good proposal to me, considering it's a friend. But then again, just a gentle reminder to still have a black and white first (contract). Too many friendships were destroyed by money and fail businesses. Plan your escape points if you must.

      You're right, having it on the province is somewhat expected to have lower and slower ROI. But if you see the better side of it, you can make it big there since there's little competition yet, right?

      Again, sorry for being late.

      Goodluck to you and your partnership!

      Best,
      Jeff

      Delete
  22. AnonymousJuly 28, 2016

    Our store is located in the barangay, tapos may iba ring tindahan sa tapat namin. Noon customer nila kami then nung nag start na kami ng store, nagalit sila. Then after that mabuti naman ang resulta ng business namin kasi ang mga price ng aming bilihin is enough para mabili ng customers namin, and then time pass by siniraan ang tindahan namin na ganito, ganyan daw kaya ang ibang customer namin lumpipat. Ano kaya best way nito?

    ReplyDelete
  23. Good day!I am a permanent public school teacher and my husband is working too.Gusto ko po sana namin na magkaroon ng isang sari-sari store for us to have an extra income kaso may nagsasabi sa amin na mahirap daw pag hindi ikaw mismo ang magbabantay sa tindahan.Please give me some advice about it.Ano po ang dapat gawin?

    ReplyDelete
  24. Home store CONS: This store has the highest exposure to credits since it's the first thing that comes at your neighbors' minds when they need something (and have nothing).

    Not unless if you are the Manang Mataray. Prolly they won't bother asking if pwede ba silang umutang. :D

    ReplyDelete
  25. Our family has been in sari sari store for years. Sa amin naman, pinaextend namin then ginawa naming internet shop sa gilid. Medyo hardwork lang at need talaga dalawa ang nagbabantay. OFW ako so ang nag mamanage yung sister ko at pinsan ko. It works for us kasi konti na lang ang pinapadala ko para sa mga expenses, mostly sa daily gastos dun na nila kinukuha.
    More power to you all.

    ReplyDelete
  26. Long-counter store, present here! ✋✋✋ for additional security, nagpalagay kami ng cctv, iwas magnanakaw at iwas ka ding manakawan kahit mga bantay muh. Medyo nakakapagod nga lang magbenta kasi lahat iseserved muh sa customer.

    ReplyDelete
  27. I have Home Store, yung buong kwarto namin dati ginawa naming Sari sari store then ung dingding namin binutasan at nilagyan ng parang malaking bintana. Then nagtayo pa kmi sa loob ng kwarto ng isa pang parang kwarto na may Pinto at chicken wire para ako lang na may ari ang pwedeng makapasok. Then bumili din ako ng CCTV. mahirap na kadi manakawan lalo na ung kasama mo sa bahay eh medyo malikot ang kamay. Wala nga lang akong doorbell. Mahirp na kasi bka paglaruan lang ng mga bata sa labas. Nakakaistorbo din kasi yun..

    ReplyDelete
  28. By concept store we mean a shop that combines culture with the business of selling. Concept stores sell a curated selection of products that suggest a certain lifestyle or theme. Typically these products are from different brands and designers, and appeal to a certain audience 1000 instagram followers

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