FIRST ON RADAR: Are bargain hunters abandoning Baclaran for cheaper deals online?

“Grabe dati na hindi ka makasingit sa dami ng namimili dito sa Baclaran,” the poster wrote. “Ngayon natatakot ka, wala na mga nagtitinda, sarado lahat. Anong nangyari?”

The post does not identify which Baclaran bargain mall appears in the photos. It is therefore unclear whether the shuttered stalls have permanently closed, are vacant, or were simply photographed outside their operating hours.

But for many commenters, the bigger story was familiar: bargain hunters may not have disappeared. They have simply moved online.

The bargains are now on their phones

Shopee, Lazada, TikTok Shop and other e-commerce platforms dominated the discussion.

“Online shopping. More competition, lower prices, more convenient and accessible,” one commenter wrote.

Another admitted to browsing physical stores, finding something she liked, then checking Shopee and buying it there if the same or similar item was cheaper.

That is a difficult battle for traditional bargain shops. Their old advantage was price. Today, shoppers can compare hundreds of sellers within minutes, stack vouchers and shipping discounts, and wait for the purchase to arrive at their doorstep.

Physical shops carry physical costs

Commenters also repeatedly blamed expensive rent.

A physical stall comes with rent, electricity, permits, salaries and other operating expenses. Online sellers can operate from warehouses, smaller spaces or even their homes, allowing some to offer lower prices.

“Start pa lang yan,” one commenter predicted, saying fewer businesses may be willing to rent such spaces in the coming years because selling online can reach a much larger market.

Another summed up the problem: “Mahal ang rent, tapos natatalo na sila ng low prices na ino-offer sa Shopee and Lazada.”

Convenience may be the biggest bargain

Price is only part of the shift.

Commenters cited traffic, difficult commutes, heat, rain, crowded streets and safety concerns as reasons they would rather shop online. Instead of traveling to Baclaran and walking from stall to stall, consumers can now scroll through merchandise from home.

Others said this is happening beyond Baclaran, pointing to fewer stalls or shoppers in places such as Tutuban and Divisoria.

There is still no evidence from the viral post alone that online shopping caused the particular closures shown in the photographs. Some commenters also noted that certain Baclaran stalls close early, meaning the images may not represent normal business hours.

Still, the reaction to the post reveals how dramatically shopping habits have changed.

For generations, Baclaran thrived because Filipinos knew where to go when they wanted something cheap.

Today, they no longer have to go anywhere.

The bargain hunt did not disappear. It moved to the screen.

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