BIZ BUZZ: ‘Sari-sari’ stores get a boost

The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) has launched an advancement program for sari-sari stores, a program that will run until October and provide online training to these small neighborhood shops to help them scale up operations and shift to a more sustainable business model.

“Our purpose here is to give free webinars to our sari-sari stores every last Wednesday of the month, 9 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. from June until October,” Cherryl Carbonell, the officer in charge director of the DTI’s Consumer Affairs and Advocacy Office, said in an announcement over the weekend.

She said the DTI has prepared many modules that will teach sari-sari store owners how to digitize their operations and how to expand their market access.

Carbonell added that they also have modules on sustainable consumption, as well as how to raise their awareness when it comes to consumer protection.

The trade official said this programs perfectly ties in with their recently launched slogan “Angat negosyo, asenso trabaho, alagang konsyumer para sa bagong Pilipinas.”

The DTI’s “Tindahan mo, e-level up mo!” program was launched in late May at the University of the Philippines in Cebu. — Alden M. Monzon

Double your SMAC points

Customers are encouraged to grab the chance to earn more SM Advantage Card (SMAC) points when they purchase Smart and TNT products at SM customer service areas, business centers, and other outlets. These products include SIM cards, load cards, and pocket WiFi.

From June 17 to 30, customers can earn 2.5x more points when they buy mentioned products. For every P100 spent, one SMAC point is received by the customer.

“We continuously look for opportunities to delight and reward our customers by strengthening our partnership with SMAC as we strive to deliver the best mobile experience to Filipinos by making our most relevant and value-packed mobile services more accessible to them,” Smart head of consumer business wireless Alex Caeg said.

“We continuously look for opportunities to delight and reward our customers by strengthening our partnership with SMAC as we strive to deliver the best mobile experience to Filipinos by making our most relevant and value-packed mobile services more accessible to them,” Dhinno Francis Tiu, head of SM Store, added. — Tyrone Jasper C. Piad