Tingi - tingi cultural phenomena in the Philippines

Antonio, Clinton Jericho D.

Beltran, Christian Kyle S.

Magayones, Lychee Iverson B.

Valencia, John Enrico M.

STEM 12 – Simplicity

September, 2019

Far Eastern University – Diliman

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 TABLE OF CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION……………………………………………………………………….. 3

IMPORTANCE OF THE STUDY……………………………………………………….4

RESEARCH PROBLEM…………………………………………………………………5

SHORT OVERVIEW…………………………………………………………………….5

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE………………………………………………..6

SCOPE AND DELIMITATIONS………………………………………………………..8

METHODOLOGY……………………………………………………………………….9

PRESENTATION, ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION OF DATA………………..9

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INTRODUCTION

Filipino has been known to have many culture since before, diversity of culture has been

the term since Filipinos invented many culture from different aspect of our life. Cultural

Phenomena here in the Philippines is very rampant from folkways to seasonal culture, early

celebration of Christmas, the never dying pancit in every celebration, superstitions and myths,

ways, systems that you will distinguish in every Filipino. One thing in common that every

Filipino knows is the “tingi-tingi culture” this has been the foundation of buying since then and

still practicing up to this day. “The practice also serves practical purpose as far as choice as

concerned as it gave the customer a wider latitude with which to choose his products at low cost.

Lastly, the practice of buying tingi-tingi has also been spurred with the Filipino belief that

products in smaller amounts are more concentrated and hence pack more value than one bought

at wholesale.” (FiliKnow).

There’s in the Philippines and all around many tropical countries a very strong and

present cultural mentality that has influenced the way products are sold and distributed. It is

known as the “Tingi Tingi Sachet Mentality” and it has been printed as popular wisdom in the

minds of every Filipino. It refers to the consumption of products by tiny individual packages. It

is strongly influenced or caused by economic crisis and searches feelings of more control and

being saving. Many people decide to live with a day by day mentality of immediate consumption

and no ties. One day you wake up and you can spontaneously decide if you want (or are able) to

consume a product. The next day maybe you’re not up the same product; it will be decided as the

day goes by.  This is something very common to see in the hygiene industry reflected in very

small packages of shampoo, conditioner, soap and detergent. The interesting thing is that this

type of immediate consumption is also easily translated to other contexts. (Tropical Virus)

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IMPORTANCE OF THE STUDY

Producer:

This study will provide information regarding the importance of this phenomenon as a

producer who will sell items in an affordable price but many will consume. This study will

clearly explain the benefits of this phenomena whether it will affect the economy of the country

or not. Producers as well as the consumers will have an idea as to what and how be this

phenomenon started and why Filipinos are still doing this kind of thing. Data gathered will also

help producers understand their capabilities toward their goals and can improve their lifestyle

Consumer:

“Enterprise for the Filipino is a small stall: the sari-sari. Industry and production for the

Filipino are the small immediate searching of each day: isangkahig, isangtuka. And commerce

for the Filipino is the smallest degree of retail: the tingi,” Nick Joaquin said in one of his essays

entitled A Heritage of Smallness.

The “tingi” in the Philippines have been significant in the Filipino culture. Filipinos are

very practical when it comes to buying goods or groceries. They use their budget carefully and

only buy what is needed, so that they won’t waste any money. This study will explain how

“tingi” could be beneficial for the consumers who are budgeting carefully. This will also explain

why it is better to purchase in “tingi” for those families with small income. And also this will

explain why you won’t waste money when you purchase in “tingi”.

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RESEARCH PROBLEM

Many Filipino prefer buying in retail than buying in bulk because they think that you’ll

get the same quality but in smaller version and you get to control on how much you will

consume in every product you buy. It is a widespread activity on a daily basis of Filipinos when

buying their goods in the market, sari-sari store and even at convenience store.

However, practicing this cultural phenomenon relies mostly upon the preferences of the

people, financial capability and status may affect but the cultural effect does most of the things.

Mentality of a Filipino is very contagious it can affect widely and spread faster just as how

cultural phenomenon works among us.

More specifically this research sought to answer the question:

1. Why do Filipinos prefer retail buying over wholesale buying?

SHORT OVERVIEW

The researchers aim to observe and gather information on why do Filipinos patronize

retail buying over bulk or wholesome buying, knowing that there are factors to consider on the

status the respondents but the researcher try to look deeper on what cultural affectivity that

possibly make this cultural phenomenon contagious to others. Many Filipinos practice this

through their dual basis, all gender and any ages.

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REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

The following are the literatures that present the basis regarding the formulation of the

research topic.

The small mindedness of Filipinos includes settling for less and having no plans for the

future. It is quite evident during pay day. Filipino often splurges all of the cash during the first

few days on a certain thing that the Filipinos do not actually need. When future needs come

prodding, they no longer have any spare cash. Filipinos also tend to settle for less like buying

sachets in shampoos, condiments.

A retail buyer is responsible for planning, selecting and purchasing quantities of goods

and merchandise that are sold in retail stores. They source new and review existing goods to

ensure their products remain competitive. Most buyers, including those working in large

department stores, tend to specialise in one product type (e.g. clothes, fashion accessories, food

and drink, books, furniture, electrical items or household goods) while those who work for

smaller stores buy a variety of products (Park, 2014)

Retail buyers purchase goods for re-sale to the public. A retail buyer takes current

inventory, sales trends, supply chain and customer needs into account when deciding what to buy

from suppliers and sell through their company. They may be responsible for overseeing the

company's receiving department and keeping tabs on inventory, expenditures and deliveries.

Retail merchandising is a management system of strategic planning and tactical control, directed

toward the financial enhancement of an inventory and the profitable distribution of that inventory

to the retail consumer. Merchandising enables retailers to make the best use of space and layout.

It creates part of the communication process with consumers and focuses on layout, design, and

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traffic flow and display advantage points. It links in with the overall development of a

company’s corporate image and strategies, and fits with the organisation’s objectives to enhance

and promote image.

People only buy what they need versus buying more than they need. This is because

Filipino families often only pay for what they can afford on a daily basis. Though buying a

whole bottle of shampoo saves you in the long run, many prefer buying sachets.

This style of buying is prevalent in the Philippines. This is brought by the Filipino culture

of tingi-tingi, or retail, which mirrors the financial status of most of the people in this third world

country. Not all consumers can afford to buy products in bulk, so this tingi-tingi culture is a way

that people can buy units of an item rather than the entire pack. Scattered around the Philippines

are sari-sari (variety) stores that sell the basic stuff for the daily needs of the locals. Sachets of

shampoo, toothpaste, laundry powder, coffee, milk, soy sauce, vinegar, tomato sauce, even

repacked salt, sugar, cooking oil, macaroni and charcoal, in smaller quantities than the original

packaging. When there was no cheese in packets yet, they even sold it by slices. Cigarettes are

even divided up and reassembled in smaller quantities in sachets.

According to (Danganan, 2012) Even malls abound in the Philippines, these sari-sari

stores thrive everywhere in the country. Big or small, they are always there. There’s one on

almost every street, sometimes even more than one, to cater to the needs of the locals. Even those

who can afford to buy in larger quantities, when they run out of something they can just go out of

their house, choose a nearby sari-sari store to buy from, and get what’s needed.

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References

https://gradireland.com/careers-advice/job-descriptions/retail-buyer

https://www.vagabondjourney.com/the-philippine-culture-of-tingi/

SCOPE AND DELIMITATIONS

This study aims to investigate and identify the various factors affecting the “tingi-tingi”

culture of the Filipinos. The research includes the interviews on the investigation and

determining the perception of Filipinos towards the factors that would affect their buying

preference. Being thus, the information herein was confined to the methods used; data analyses;

that were measured and analyzed. Other perceptions of Filipinos to their buying preference, the

effect of the preference factors between the tingi-tingi culture, and the ordinary retail buying are

excluded in the study.

On the other hand, the data were gathered altogether from five (5) Filipinos who are retail

buying in the vicinity of SM Fairview. The results of the study were derived from the subjects’

responses to the interview questionnaires. These were the only bases used in analyzing the

perception of the Filipinos to the factors of “tingi-tingi” culture preference under study.

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METHODOLOGY

The researchers will conduct their research in SM Fairview particularly in SM Supermarket; they

will use purposive sampling to gather information to their chosen respondents. Beforehand the

researchers will ask permission to each respondent before proceeding to the interview proper.

Once they agreed upon the given conditions they can participate in the survey. The researcher

also will ask them if they want to be recorded with video.

In the interview proper the respondents will be ask with 5 questions:

1. How does retail buying affect the quality of your daily life?

2. Do you get the same quality when you buy in retail rather than buying in bulk?

3. Is it much cheaper and practical to buy things in retail?

4. Does retail buying can be considered as Filipino instilled tradition?

5. Do you think that retail buying has already emerged into our culture?

Once the interview is done the researcher will wrap up the session and thanking the respondents.

PRESENTATION, ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION OF DATA

This chapter presents, analyzes and interprets the data gathered through the use of the

interviews. Thus, the tabular and graphical presentations, as well as discussions, were organized

based on the objectives used in the study.

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Findings on Preference Factor: Retail Buying

Table 1. Summary of frequency counts and percentages for preference factor: Retail

Buying Phenomenon

Interviews Ages Retail Buying Is retail Products Effects of How long you

Is Efficient buying a retail retail buying

trend buying
1 36 Yes Yes Fruits Makes life More than 10

efficient years
2 44 No Yes N/A N/A N/A
3 25 Yes Yes Tetra Packs Make you 2 years

thrift

The table above shows the summary of frequency counts and percentages obtained from

different respondents on the preference factor: Retail Buying, through the use of interviews.

Based on the table above, it was shown that most of the Adult Respondents, numerically half of

such respondents preferred retail buying. Meanwhile, the eldest respondent preferred wholesale

buying. Furthermore, the last respondent answered retail buying is efficient, most evidently on

respondents who are between 41 years old and above. In addition, almost 50 % of the

respondents also preferred the same answer Based on the table above, the findings implied that

respondents preferred retail buying.

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