How to Prepare Your E-commerce Business for Chinese New Year 

If you source or sell any product from China, you’re probably familiar with Chinese New Year. If so, I’m sure you know that Chinese New Year has a huge impact on supply chains all over the world, especially when it comes to production and shipping times.

So, to ensure that your business can continue smoothly even when the holiday has temporarily suspended many services, you need to get all your ducks in a row before the start of Chinese New Year.

In this article, we will discuss some of the things you can do to prepare for the upcoming Chinese New Year. Let’s get started.

What is the Chinese New Year? 

The Chinese New Year, also known as the Spring Festival, marks the beginning of a new year in the Chinese lunar calendar. As a holiday celebrated throughout China, Chinese New Year is a time when Chinese people celebrate a new beginning in their lives. Business activities are suspended during the Spring Festival.

In 2022, the first day of the Chinese New Year is Tuesday, February 1. Chinese people usually enjoy a holiday that lasts for at least 7-8 days, from January 31 to February 7 or 8.

Chinese New Year 2022: What is the Timeline? 

Like we mentioned, Chinese New Year starts on Tuesday, February 1, 2022. Chinese suppliers will begin to slow down or stop production a week or so before that. We recommend that you ask your suppliers when their offices and factories will be closed during the holiday.

The following summarizes the approximate timetable for the Chinese New Year holiday in 2022, based on our past experience.

· Around January 22: Companies start to wind down and slowly stop production

· January 31: Chinese New Year begins

· February 7: Chinese New Year ends; most offices reopen, and people head back to work

· After February 15: Most factory workers return to their posts, and factories slowly resume production

Chinese New Year 2022: How will CNY affect your eCommerce Business? 

As highlighted earlier, Chinese New Year is the most important event in China every year. This means that most businesses, including the suppliers on AliExpress that you may work with, observe the holiday and shut down for a period of time.

For factory workers, Chinese New Year is perhaps the only time of the year when they are able to go back to their hometowns; factories usually give two weeks’ worth of leave time, given the intense traffic during the holiday season. This means that, on average, your suppliers will take at least two weeks off.

So, although there’s no need to temporarily close your dropshipping store, there may be some delays during Chinese New Year that are crucial to be aware of.

Ok, so what can you do to ensure you are fully prepared?

Let’s discover more below.

Tips on How to Prepare Your e-Commerce Store During Chinese New Year 

1) Order early 

It is critical that you order as early as possible before Chinese New Year 2022 comes. If you order late or too close to Chinese New Year, you could encounter partial or even total delays in your product deliveries!

Please keep in mind that in addition to regular businesses, most freight companies will also be closed during Chinese New Year. So, order early—and by early, we mean very early!

2) Reduce ads  

Once you have a better idea of your suppliers’ plans, you can reduce ads for items that will ship more slowly during the holiday.

It is good to check on this right away, as some suppliers start to slow down in the weeks leading up to the CNY (a shorthand for the holiday).

For example, you may consider reducing marketing for Valentine’s Day or Saint Patrick's Day, as those items may not arrive in time for those holidays.

3) Consider stocking bestsellers 

Do you have a hot selling item? Consider stocking this item now, so you have it on hand. You can then guarantee that orders are delivered during this period.

Be sure that you’ll have enough stock of your inventory before the start of Chinese New Year. Once you begin running low on supplies during the holiday, you should reduce your advertising efforts to a minimum to keep you afloat until new stock arrives after CNY.

4) Inform customers that orders will be delayed 

Consider posting on your website that orders will experience delays. For example, update your site to say that you’re currently experiencing shipping delays and provide a link to where customers can find more information.

Customers will often understand, especially since Covid-19 has reduced the number of flights, slowing e-commerce delivery times globally.

You can also remind customers that orders are experiencing delays in an email after they place their order. This will help ensure that they are reminded of delays just in case they didn’t see it on your site.

In case you want to plan ahead for future Chinese holidays, please see the calendar below.

The two holidays that will actually affect your business most are the Chinese National Day and Chinese New Year.

Finally...

The chief takeaway for you is early preparation. So, make sure you get in touch with all your suppliers so that you are fully aware of their holiday schedules.

USAdrop, the one-stop dropshipping platform, makes sellers’ businesses our top priority, and we want to help sellers go through Chinese New Year without a hitch.

We hope this article has provided you with enough information for you to prepare your online dropshipping store for Chinese New Year. Please stay tuned for more dropshipping info and awesome blog posts.

Thanks for reading!