KairoTech, Packworks turn sari-sari stores into a new retail media channel

KairoTech and Packworks have partnered to develop what they describe as the Philippines’ first sari-sari retail media network, bringing digital media and retail intelligence closer to the neighbourhood stores where Filipinos make everyday purchases.

The partnership combines KairoTech’s behaviour-led digital media and audience intelligence capabilities with Packworks’ network of more than 300,000 digitised sari-sari stores nationwide.

The companies aim to use the network to give brands and agencies greater visibility into neighbourhood-level demand, while helping sari-sari store owners improve sales, inventory management and purchasing economics.

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The initiative targets a retail channel that remains significant in the Philippines, with an estimated 1.3 million sari-sari stores across the country. These independently operated businesses play a central role in local communities, where proximity, convenience and established relationships with customers can influence purchasing decisions.

“Retail media should do more than make advertising more precise. In the Philippine context, it can connect brand investment to real economic activity in communities - helping brands build demand while creating more opportunities for sari-sari stores to sell more, strengthen their economics and grow,” said Ed Sunico, co-founder and managing partner of KairoTech.

For sari-sari retailers, the companies said the network could help turn stronger and more relevant consumer demand into faster product movement and higher sales.

Greater visibility into local demand could also help store owners make more informed stocking and ordering decisions, potentially reducing inventory inefficiencies and improving purchasing economics over time. The resulting gains could support margins and more competitive pricing.

The partnership also seeks to build on the traditional “suki” relationship between sari-sari stores and their customers - a model based on familiarity, trust and convenience that can be difficult for larger retail formats to replicate.

“Sari-sari stores understand their neighbourhoods better than anyone. By giving them greater access to technology, data and market opportunities while preserving the trust and suki relationships that define neighbourhood retail, we can help the entire channel become stronger, more competitive and more sustainable,” said Ibrahim “Ibba” Rasul Bernardo, co-founder and chief marketing officer of Packworks.

KairoTech and Packworks said the network could support product launches, regional expansion, distribution, promotions and local demand generation by helping brands identify emerging demand and focus marketing and distribution efforts on priority communities.

The approach differs from established retail media models built around large supermarket chains and eCommerce platforms. Instead, the companies are focusing on the scale and fragmented nature of Philippine neighbourhood retail, where hundreds of thousands of independently operated stores remain embedded in consumers’ daily routines.

The companies ultimately intend for the network to connect brands, consumers and sari-sari retailers, with the aim of translating retail intelligence and media activity into increased demand while strengthening the competitiveness of neighbourhood stores.

Packworks currently provides retail intelligence, ordering, promotions, route-to-market and precision marketing capabilities through its platform, while KairoTech specialises in behaviour-led and contextually matched advertising, including audience intelligence, programmatic media activation, dynamic creative optimisation and campaign analytics.

From AI-powered marketing and the friction economy to retention-led growth, DMA Philippines 2026 on 29 September in Manila will bring together marketers to tackle the opportunities and challenges shaping the next phase of digital transformation.

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