"Malling" consumes shoppers in the Philippines

By Marnette Federis

MANILA (Reuters) - In the Philippines, "malling" has become a verb, the act of going to a shopping mall and whiling away the hours.

The Southeast Asian country has three of the world's 10 largest shopping centers, two of them in the capital, Manila. Scores of others, ranging from modern glass and steel structures to older, fading buildings, dot cities across the archipelago.

Although over 40 percent of the country's 90 million people live on $2 or less per day, malls here are crowded at all times, and especially packed at weekends.

Around 80 percent of the Philippines' population go to shopping centers and around 36 million people visit shopping plazas once or twice a month, according to Nielsen Media Research.

"People just come to the mall to stay cool, said Chris Balberona, a driver for a bank, who was at Manila's Megamall watching ice-skaters on an artificial rink.

"Life is hard right now so we don't really come here to shop."

The air-conditioned malls are a boon in this steamy tropical nation. But shopping plazas in the Philippines have also become a place to pay bills, meet or watch people, eat or see a film.

Catholic masses are even held in the corridors of some malls. While the faithful sit on plastic chairs, less religious folk continue to browse the rails nearby.

Shopping is only an option at Manila's malls.

A WAY OF LIFE

But with inflation hitting a near 17-year high of 12.2 percent in July as gas and food prices soar, Filipinos are forking out even less these days for non-essentials such as cinema trips and more clothes.

Private consumption is the lifeblood of the Philippine economy and a drop-off in spending is expected to cut economic growth this year to 5.1 percent, according to a Reuters poll last month, from a three decade peak of 7.2 percent in 2007.

Economic growth skidded to a seasonally adjusted 0.8 percent in the first quarter compared to 1.3 percent in the fourth quarter of last year

SM Prime, the largest mall operator in the Philippines, said 2.5 million people still visited its 30 shopping centers across the country.

"There has been no noticeable decrease in this number primarily because the 'malling' lifestyle has become a way of life for the Filipinos," said Cora Guidote, vice president for investor relations at SM Prime.