Chinese New Year is quickly approaching, and if you're a dropshipper, you may be wondering how it will impact your business.
Don't panic! In this blog post, we'll discuss the upcoming holiday and what you need to do to prepare for it. So read on for all the info you need to ensure your store is ready for the Chinese New Year in 2022!
What is the Chinese New Year?
When you’re dropshipping from China, you need to factor in the holidays from China.
For example, the Chinese New Year. Also known as the Lunar New Year, or Spring Festival.
The Chinese New Year is the Chinese festival that celebrates the beginning of a new year on the traditional Chinese calendar. (Source)
This holiday is huge in China.
It's China's most important festival and holiday time.
Bonus: Below you will find an ad from Nike that highlights a Chinese tradition during the Chinese New Year!
I think it's a great video to watch if you want to learn a bit more about their traditions.
When does the Chinese New Year start in 2022, and for how long is it?
Chinese New Year is almost always celebrated on the second new moon following the winter solstice, therefore typically falling between late-January to mid-February. (Source)
This year the holiday will start on February 1st, 2022, starting a year of the Tiger.
Celebrations of Chinese New Year traditionally last for 16 days, starting from Chinese New Year's Eve to the Lantern Festival. In 2022, that is from January 31st to February 15th.
As a public holiday, Chinese people will get 7 days off from work from January 31st to February 6th in 2022.
This is way earlier than the previous year (2021), where the new year started on February 12th.
The thing to keep in mind is that, on average, most Chinese workers will take a one week holiday to take time with family and friends, but a lot of Chinese workers will also extend their holiday by a few days or weeks.
Just like western people take some extra time off around Christmas and New Year.
Asking a supplier to keep production going during the Chinese New Year is the same as asking you to work on Christmas eve.
While some of us still do that, it’s not something to be expected. It’s also a public holiday, so the factory cannot force their employees to work at this time.
From ChinaImportal
How does the Chinese New Year affect dropshipping stores?
So, why is this important if you want to dropship from China or if you're currently dropshipping from China with, for example, AliExpress?
Well… because with every Chinese New Year, everyone in China goes on holiday for one week or longer.
But that's not all, according to ChinaImportal:
- Production is halted for one or two weeks before the Chinese New Years' Eve. All suppliers start to wind down operations one to two weeks in advance.
- Production is halted for a minimum of two weeks after the Chinese New Years' Eve.
- Getting operations back to normal can take up to a month (or more).
This means that during that time, almost everything will be closed.
So, no packages can be shipped out to your customers, and new products are not being produced during that time.
Basically, the whole country is put on pause.
The best-case scenario will be a shipping delay of a week or more.
The worst-case scenario could be something like three weeks without any product shipment.
So that means that you can have difficulty with your dropshipping store until the beginning of March.
That's a long time if you're not prepared for this Chinese holiday.
What to do with your dropshipping store during the Chinese New Year?
So, now you know what this Chinese holiday is and how it can affect you and your dropshipping store (if you've already got one, and if you're dropshipping from China).
If you don't have a dropshipping store yet, then make sure to take notes for next year.
This way you will be prepared because this Chinese holiday is every year!
What you need to do is to contact your supplier(s) before the Chinese New Year starts.
Ask your supplier(s) how long they plan to be closed, what date they close, and when they plan to open again.
Preferably ask this a week or more before the start of the holiday.
This way, they have some time to respond, and you have some time after their response to figure out what your plan is going to be.
After you know when your supplier(s) will close and when they will open again, you can then decide what you want to do.
If your dropshipping store is not open yet, or if you're not running any advertisements at the moment, I suggest you keep it that way and start with advertisements after this Chinese holiday.
Even better, start around the beginning of March, so you will probably not notice any problems that are caused by the Chinese New Year!
Take this time to learn more about dropshipping, advertising, and so on.
Bonus tip: Don't forget to take a look at our blog! This blog is focused on teaching everyone about dropshipping for free!
If your dropshipping store is already open and you're currently running advertisements, then keep reading; I will give you some tips that you can use to figure out what your game plan is going to be with this Chinese New Year:
1. You could find another supplier
The first tip is to find another supplier who might be open earlier.
Maybe your supplier takes three weeks off, but you've found another supplier who only takes one week off.
You could then use that supplier until your main supplier is back, or you could switch to that new supplier indefinitely.
If you use AliExpress, just start messaging other AliExpress suppliers that are selling the same product, and ask them when they plan to close for the Chinese New Year and when they plan to open again.
Just don't forget to check the AliExpress supplier correctly!
Another option is to find dropshipping suppliers that are not shipping from China. You can learn more about that here.
For example, you can take a look at UK suppliers or maybe even suppliers in the US!
2. You could order a large amount of the products that are selling the best in your store
The second tip is for dropshipping store owners that already have a product that is making sales (and profits).
If you're uncertain about that yet, I don't suggest importing the product in bulk yet.
You could order a large amount of these products and fulfill them yourself (in your house) when orders are coming in. Or you could use a fulfillment center.
3. You could take the time to work at your store and learn more about dropshipping
You can either pause your advertisements or you could continue running them.
But either way, don't forget to let your current and future customers know that the shipping time might take longer.
If you're unsure and your budget is tight, you could try and pause your advertisements and enable them again at the end of the Chinese New Year.
After that, you can see how that goes for you.
Do your advertisements run the same as before the pause?
You can take that information and learn from it for the next Chinese New Year!
If you're going to take a break from selling on your dropshipping store, I suggest reading these articles to learn more:
Learning more about dropshipping for free:
Learning more about advertising:
- Facebook Ads for Ecommerce Stores: A Beginner’s Guide
- Marketing for Dropshipping: How to Pick the Right Method
For example, take a look at our infographic below:
You could also spend this time working on your strategy to get free traffic to your dropshipping store!
Because free traffic might take some time before it's effective.
If you want to learn more about that, I suggest reading the article that I've linked below:
8 Amazing Ways to Get Free Traffic to Your Dropshipping Store
Conclusion
And there you have it, everything about the Chinese New Year in 2022!
I covered everything from what this holiday is to how it will affect dropshipping stores.
I hope my tips at the end will get you through this Chinese New Year safely!
If you have any other tips to get you through the Chinese New Year with a dropshipping store or if you have any questions, let me know by commenting below or contacting me directly by pressing the “Contact Us” button at the top!
I wish you the best with your dropshipping store, and if you haven't started yet, then good luck when you're going to start!
Getting started with dropshipping in 2024
So, are you ready to get started with dropshipping? Or maybe you have already started, but you’re looking to get some inspiration?
If so, I suggest reading our complete Shopify dropshipping guide!
It's a huge article, but it contains everything that you need to know to create your own Shopify dropshipping store in 2024. It's like a dropshipping course, but for free!
Reading this article will help you to get started and stay motivated while beginning and continuing your dropshipping journey!
Just don’t forget that success takes time. Keep improving each and every day!
Shopify Dropshipping: A 20-Step Guide to Starting Your Store
And here are some of our best articles:
- AliExpress Dropshipping: A 20-Step Getting Started Guide
- The Complete Guide: Can You Start Dropshipping Without Money?
- 12 Reasons Why Most People Fail With Dropshipping | Beat Them!
Also, if you want to get started with Shopify, then you can click here to get a free 3-day trial + pay $1/month for the first 3 months!
