COVID has been many things. One of those things is a catalyst for change. In the Philippines, COVID accelerated a slow-moving commerce industry.
To be sure, home delivery has always been a feature of life in the major cities here in ways that drive-through pick-up is a feature of American life. When I arrived, two comments American ex-pats would make to illustrate the curious alternate-America aspect of the Philippines was McDonald's (and all fast-food) home delivery and that 911 would connect you with Pizza Hut, not emergency services.
Lock-downs in the Philippines compressed the infection curve (across Asia) — at a massive cost to the economy and mental well-being — but it pushed home delivery and online commerce to a new level.
Packages strapped to mopeds from flitting around all have something in common: a compulsive need to box, wrap, tape, box again, bubble wrap, and tape any delivery. A quick scan of reviews on Lazada or Shopee (the two major online shopping platforms in the Philippines) shows a definite bias for the well-packaged.
The packing, sealing, securing compulsiveness propped a friend visiting from Israel to ask, "what's with all the plastic and tape?" On arrival, it seemed that the propensity to seal, tape, and then staple an envelope seemed like overkill.
