Ukay-ukay business in the Philippines has been surprisingly resilient over the past decades, thanks to the ever-adapting fashion tastes of the locals. I have been very curious on the etymology of the word “ukay” (being an ukay patron) and found out that is derived from a Cebuano term “halukay” which means to dig or sift through. Whenever we hear ukay business, we may relate it to the sale of pre-loved items (not necessarily second hand clothes) but also other goods which can be of value to consumers.
The business model obviously lies within thrifting and economization, the reason why Philippines has a booming ukay business and has evolved already into a mainstream business due to its loyal and wide consumer base. From its original physical store set-up, the ukay business has already penetrated the digital platforms (much more during the pandemic when we were seeing numerous live sellers at Facebook, Tiktok and Shopee). And I was one of those “na nabudol” (but in a good way) during the heightened popularity of ukay business in the e-commerce.
Why do consumers love it aside from its low price points (despite the chaotic and crowded setup of goods inside the store) . One reason that I can think of is that consumers need to meet what we call the “emotional satisfaction”—that is when the mere possession of a thing gives us happiness, more especially if that thing is a branded one which we cannot easily purchase due to financial constraints. As a college Professor, who would always inject the Philippines’ economic status in my lessons, I always say that Philippines is not anymore a third world country. (But I have to rectify this, third world country should not be used anymore, it should be developing country instead). Not until I have learned that the ukay goods being sold here in the country came from first world countries like Korea, Japan and the US. Much more when I saw videos of our OFWs patiently waiting on the garbage areas to look for goods that can still be valuable to them. And yes, I stand corrected: Philippines is still a third world country for this matter (Although ukay-ukay may be considered an indirect economic indicator, it nonetheless paints a telling picture of our national condition. The very idea of ‘recycling’ what wealthier countries discard—transforming their trash into our treasures—suggests more than just a booming thrift industry. It subtly but unmistakably reinforces our position as a developing, or more bluntly, a third-world country. When secondhand becomes our standard, it raises difficult but necessary questions about sustainability, sovereignty, and self-sufficiency).
I believe that the ukay business is already embedded in our culture and will not vanish in the foreseeable future. Aside from the fact that it reflects our tradition of being thrifty, it will carry on not unless the Filipinos are already capable of buying high-quality and branded items that they long for (and this I think is very hard to attain given the socio-economic status that we are currently in). The ukay business will continue to prosper not unless Filipinos won’t crave for social proof and validation anymore. |
