Most of the products carried by the Sari-Sari stores are packaged in small, single-use packets. These often sell for just a peso or two. You can even buy cigarettes one at a time. The obvious reason for this is that most people here are very poor, and cannot afford to buy in larger volumes. The culture also encourages these single use packets. For example, many people bathe at a communal water source, often outside. (They bathe with their clothes on.) If you were to arrive with a bottle of shampoo, your friends and neighbors would all ask to borrow the use of your shampoo, and your expensive bottle would be used up very quickly. Sharing is very much expected, and to refuse such a request would be a serious matter. By arriving with a small packet of shampoo, there is no problem with sharing.

We shop at the same supermarkets where the Sari-Sari owners buy their supplies. Most things are available in a wide range of sizes, to suit all incomes. Although we generally buy things in the larger bottles, we have noticed that there is seldom any savings by doing so. There is little or no premium to be paid for all the extra packaging that goes into the little packets. Sometimes they are actually cheaper than the equivalent quantity in the largest bottles.