Almost a year into varying levels of quarantine, the country has experienced quite a lifestyle shift that made people wary of going out too far from their homes.
While most are expecting the restrictions to taper off, we are still far from being “back to normal”. So there are still a few who choose to err on the side of caution, especially families who live with children and/or seniors.
“I try not to go far, or to any places that may be crowded, when I have to shop for our household needs,” said Beverly, a household helper in a Quezon City subdivision. Beverly is employed by a senior citizen couple so she cannot go off too far and risk infection. “Fortunately, we have an Alfamart here inside the subdivision; walking distance from the house. That’s where I tend to shop nowadays,” she continued in Filipino.
Beverly added that, over the past year, she and other people in their subdivision have gotten used to going to Super Minimarts. “We thought the [Alfamart] was just a convenience store, but over the pandemic we discovered that it does provide other items like meat, fish, and many other household needs.” she said.
Minimarts have become a welcome convenience to communities, especially during the pandemic. According to Alfamart, the first and only Super Minimart chain in the Philippines, while there has understandably been less foot-traffic in their stores, the amount of items purchased per customer has increased.
Shoppers queue to get their daily needs at a nearby Alfamart. Foot traffic has gone down throughout the pandemic, but each customer buys more to stock up their respective pantries.
“It was a welcome challenge to serve and provide in the midst of the pandemic,” said Alfamart Philippines COO Harvey Ong. “We needed to make sure that our employees were safe and can continue to serve our customers, as well as maintain other aspects of our operation such as warehousing, distribution, and construction of new stores,” he continued.
A customer is assisted by Alfamart staff. As more people turn to nearby Alfamart branches to get their needs, store staff are all the more helpful.
Ong added that the effort was all worth it because people have seen how complete, convenient, and affordable Alfamart is.
“The past year was indeed a test of how committed we are to the communities we serve,” Ong said. “As we continue to expand beyond our 1000-store milestone, we will have more in store for our customers, our suppliers, our lessors, and each and everyone of our partners,” he concluded.
For more information on Alfamart, please visit https://www.alfamart.com.ph/shop-with-us/.
ADVT.