Adventures in Shopping
Written on Apr 27, 2026
Physical shopping in the United States has always been easy, at least in my opinion. Physical shopping in the Philippines has never been easy, but not for the obvious reasons.
Even when physical shopping is easy, online shopping can be the better option. Even with huge department and grocery stores, you can't always find what you need.
Shopping in the United States
There are more places to shop in big cities than I can count or name. In metro Phoenix, where I am today, there are three major stores within a 20-minute drive each way. If I can't find what I need at one of those, which is rare, I can usually find it online.
While Amazon.com is the most convenient online shopping service, it isn't the only one. I can't name the alternatives right now, but if I'm looking for something specific, a Google search can point me in the right direction.
A lot of physical stores will ship products to me just as quickly as Amazon.com. In the last few years, I've received deliveries from Walmart as well as military stores. I haven't tried any others.
Many restaurants deliver as well. I've heard of Uber Eats, DoorDash, and Instacart, but I've never used any of them.
Shopping in the Philippines
Physical shopping wasn't difficult when I moved to the Philippines in 2006, but finding anything other than the basics was an adventure. The existing "Olongapo Mall" was practically worthless. If I needed something, I usually had to travel from store to store in the city.
That changed in 2012 when developers built the Harbor Point mall at the Subic Bay Freeport Zone and the SM City Olongapo Downtown mall replaced the Olongapo Mall. Developers constructed the SM City Olongapo Central mall in 2019, the year before the pandemic began.
Even with all those malls, some things aren't available without taking a trip to metro Manila. Luckily, two online shopping services began to serve that purpose. I buy things through Lazada.com.ph, but Shopee.ph is the service my relatives like to use.
There are local delivery services, including those coming from those three malls. There also restaurant delivery services like GrabFood and Food Panda. I've never used Food Panda.
Debit and Credit Cards
Regardless of whether I'm physically shopping or shopping online, I can use a debit or credit card in the United States. Cash on delivery no longer exists in the United States, but it's still widely used in the Philippines, particularly with the services I previously mentioned.
People can use cards in the Philippines as well. Even mobile wallets such as GCash will suffice for some things. I have a VISA prepaid card for GCash for places that won't accept anything else. Cash is only required at the public market.
Image by Nhick Ramiro Pacis from Pixabay