The beginning of the Chinese New Year varies from the end of January to the middle of February. The beginning of the new year on the traditional Chinese calendar, also known as the Lunar Calendar, is celebrated by billions of people all over the world, but nowhere more so than in China itself.
Fireworks! Food! Travel!
Observed as a two-week national holiday!
What the… Yes, the entire nation goes on vacation for a whole month. As a result, most factories will stop producing and will not fulfill orders. You can therefore anticipate no banking services, no orders being fulfilled, and no deliveries during this time.
February can be a difficult month if your company relies on drop shipping from China. Here’s what you need to know to get ready for the New Year’s holiday shutdown in China.
Get the details here if you’re interested.
How Does Chinese New Year Affect My Drop Shipping Business?
The dates of Chinese New Year vary from year to year, and while the official holiday itself lasts for about two weeks, most businesses also close for a few days before and after the holiday. This means that your vendors typically take two weeks off every year.
Unfortunately, this holiday will most certainly have an impact on dropshipping companies. Knowing what causes delays, however, will allow you to better plan ahead. Before the holiday season begins, there are three main considerations to keep in mind.
To begin, beginning around mid-January, many vendors will cease taking orders in the final weeks before the holiday.
Second, many vendors are shut down for the entire month, so not only will they be unable to fulfill orders, but they will also be inaccessible. So you couldn’t inquire about anything; they wouldn’t provide details about previous shipments or prices for new goods.
Last but not least, it usually takes a week or two for things to get back into full swing after the start of a new year. It’s possible that some vendors won’t be back to full strength until early March.
Contact Your Suppliers
The time it takes to ship your products depends on a number of variables. If you need specifics, you’ll need to get in touch with all of your regular vendors. Prepare a list of questions to ask seasoned suppliers if they reach out to you, but don’t take their advice on how to manage your company.
Inquire with each vendor to find out the last date orders will be fulfilled. Remember that dealing with supplier communications could test your patience. It’s likely that they get a lot of emails from suppliers all over the world, the exact number depending on the size of their company.
Making use of a template to communicate with your sellers consistently is an efficient use of your time. We suggest using an Excel sheet to keep track of this data so that it can be easily organized.
Major Impacts of Chinese New Year Business Shut Down
The 1st of the new year marks the end of all order taking.
Financial institutions and mail delivery suspend operations.
Those in the workforce take time off to see friends and relatives.
It will take some time for production to get back up and running after the festival.
It’s possible that some vendors will want to end their order period before January 1st. To be sure, check with your vendors. There may be a delay in delivery or payment processing even if the factory is operating normally if banks and the postal service are closed.
During this time, shops and factories suffer from a lack of workers. As people return at different times following the festival, it’s possible that production kickoffs will be spread out. It would be disastrous to close shop because your suppliers went out of business.
How to Prepare your dropshipping business for the Chinese New Year
With some forethought and ingenuity, you can make it appear as though customer service was never interrupted during the monthlong shutdown.
Keep Your Customer Informed About Shipping Times
A banner can be added to the top of your site through your drop shipping platform. Most likely, you’re already making use of a banner like this to promote special shipping rates or upcoming sales.
Create a new banner explaining the shipping delays and linking to the page where customers can learn more. You can use the banner to tell customers that you are offering a temporary sale to compensate for the longer shipping times.
An alert can be set up to notify buyers of the longer shipping time at the time of order. Setting up an instantaneous email that is sent after the customer has completed the order’s payment is the most efficient method to do this. If the customer cannot wait, allow them to cancel the order.
Be Responsive
If they are kept informed, most customers are willing to wait for their package. However, waiting for answers to questions is universally disliked. Even if you’ve been communicating with your customers proactively, they may still have questions.
It’s possible to give the impression that you’re always open for business by using an automated email or chat system. Don’t worry about being too specific; just be truthful. It’s important to keep your customers updated on the status of their orders.
Keep in mind that it is much more cost-effective to retain an existing customer than to acquire a new one.
Good Option: Stockpile Your Most Popular Products
Once you know when your suppliers’ Chinese New Year business will be closed, you can order stock for yourself and ship it yourself. This is only temporary. It can be expensive, and it defeats the purpose of drop shipping, but it is effective in maintaining great customer service.
Don’t Let a Festival Shut You Down
You can keep your drop-shipping online shop up and running during the Chinese New Year holiday with just a little bit of planning in advance. Limiting backlog with even a modest supply of hot sellers is possible with some advance planning.
An additional week or so of shipping time may still be necessary, but as long as the customer is aware of this, everything should go smoothly.