As inflation bites, Filipinos have become 'intentional' shoppers

To keep customers shopping despite the pressure on their wallets, SM is relying on what it calls its 'good, better, best' line-up of items in stores

MANILA, Philippines – Filipinos have not stopped shopping despite the creeping specter of inflation, though the country’s biggest retailer is seeing a consumer who’s increasingly deliberate about where each peso goes.

SM Investments Corporation (SMIC) said consumer spending across its stores and malls remained resilient in the first half of 2026, helping lift consolidated revenues by 6% to P339.2 billion and net income by 8% to P45.9 billion. SM Retail in particular had a net income of P8.9 billion, up 5%.

In this sense, SM is well-situated to be resilient in a Philippine economy largely powered by consumers. Household spending usually accounts for more than 70% of the economy. But even as GDP growth grew at an incredibly weak 2.3% in Q2 2026, household consumption still expanded 2.8%, while investments shrank by 9.2%.

“We continue to see stable and healthy consumer spending across our retail and also our malls, despite the fact that fuel prices took a big jump in Q2,” SMIC executive vice president for finance Franklin Gomez said during the conglemerates H1 briefing.