Chinese New Year 2025 falls on January 29th, marking the start of SE Asia’s most significant cultural festival. Typically celebrated in the last week of January or the first week of February, this festive period is a time for family gatherings and traditions. But it is also a major e-commerce shopping event.
The Chinese New Year Sale, also popularly known as CNY, is a key period for online retailers, as consumers flock to shop for festive essentials and gifts. Take a look at the data: In February 2024, Singapore’s retail sales surged by 9.4%. According to the Department of Statistics, the CNY festival primarily drove the growth. February’s total retail sales hit S$3.9 billion, with online sales contributing 10.9%. Tourism also played a key role in driving sales. 30-day free visa travel between China and Singapore witnessed many Chinese tourists.
This blog explores how e-commerce sellers can prepare for the Chinese New Year Sale – a key period when customer buying intent is high. It also covers potential business challenges, spending trends, and strategies to maximize this festive season.
Chinese New Year Sale: Trends and Key Insights
Chinese New Year holds particular significance in Singapore compared to the rest of Southeast Asia. Over the past five years, Google search trends for festivity-related terms have been highest in Singapore, surpassing Malaysia, Hong Kong, and Taiwan. The most popular search term is ‘CNY promotions’ as consumers eagerly look online for the best deals. Interestingly, searches for Chinese New Year sales start gaining momentum 8-10 weeks before the festival, highlighting the anticipation and importance of this shopping period. While last year was the year of the Dragon, CNY 2025 is the year of the Snake.
During the Chinese New Year, many people travel to visit family and friends. In 2023, 2.1 billion trips were made to take part in festivities! As a result, there’s increased demand for gifts and travel-related products such as travel storage products like backpacks and suitcases.
The sectors experiencing the most significant growth include food and beverage (F&B), supermarkets, clothing and footwear. This uptick is attributed to both local spending and increased tourist arrivals, particularly from China. The most popular foods are sweets, confections, chips, and non-alcoholic beverages.
Sales of optical goods, books, and computer equipment are industries that see a decline during the Chinese New Year sale.
E-commerce challenges during Chinese New Year Sale
While the Chinese New Year Sale presents immense potential for e-commerce sellers, several challenges can affect customer satisfaction. Here are some key issues to keep in mind:
Supply Chain Disruptions
- Factory Closures: Many factories close for extended periods during the holiday, leading to delays in production and inventory shortages. This can create difficulties for e-commerce businesses that depend on timely deliveries.
Congestion in Supply Chains: The high volume of last-minute orders can overwhelm suppliers, causing delays or refusals to fulfill orders. The closer to the holiday an order is placed, the higher the risk of delay.
Congestion in Supply Chains: The high volume of last-minute orders can overwhelm suppliers, causing delays or refusals to fulfill orders. The closer to the holiday an order is placed, the higher the risk of delay.
CNY supply chain disruptions can lead to delays and inventory shortages.
Locad provides advance communication about blackout days, ensuring you’re prepared for potential delays.
Logistics and Shipping Delays
- Reduced Staffing: With many workers on holiday, staffing at ports and customs can be minimal, slowing down the processing of shipments and often leading to delays in order fulfillment.
- Higher Shipping Costs: The increased demand for shipping services around this time often results in higher costs, which can impact profit margins for e-commerce retailers.
Inventory Management Issues
- Stockouts: If sellers do not forecast demand accurately, businesses may experience stockouts. This can result in missed sales and dissatisfied customers.
Quality Control Concerns: The rush to fulfill orders before the holiday may lead to lapses in quality control, resulting in lower-quality products reaching customers and potentially harming a brand’s reputation.
Shipping delays and rising costs during the holiday season can impact your profits.
Locad’s demand forecasting ensures accurate inventory management and helps prevent stockouts.
How to prepare your business for the Chinese New Year Sale 2025?
Preparing for the Chinese New Year Sale requires strategic planning and timely execution. This festive period presents a significant opportunity for e-commerce businesses to boost sales. But it also comes with unique challenges. By following key steps, you can ensure your business is ready to meet customer demand.
Plan Your Inventory Early
Begin your inventory planning weeks before the Chinese New Year Sale—ideally right after Christmas. Analyze previous sales data to forecast demand for different products. Deciding how much inventory to order can be challenging, as your Q1 sales likely won’t match the peak holiday season. It’s wise to make a conservative estimate to avoid overstocking.
While planning, take time to understand the CNY audience. The Lunar New Year is a period focused on family, new beginnings, and good luck. Consumers often look for festive items, gifts, and products that symbolize prosperity. By aligning your inventory with these themes, you can better meet customer expectations and enhance your sales potential.
Struggling to predict inventory needs for CNY?
Locad tells you how quickly or slowly stock is moving, helping you make informed decisions and avoid overstocking.
Decentralized Inventory
Storing inventory in multiple locations can increase supply chain resilience and improve your ability to fulfill orders quickly. By decentralizing your inventory, you reduce the reliance on a single warehouse and can serve customers from the closest location. This system also allows businesses to adjust stock levels based on local demand patterns. The flexibility can lead to significant cost savings, particularly during peak seasons like the Chinese New Year Sale.
Decentralized inventory keeps products near customers, reducing shipping times.
With Locad’s warehouses in SE Asia, the USA, Australia, and the GCC, you can store your stock where it’s needed most.
Communicate with Suppliers
Maintaining clear and consistent communication with your suppliers is crucial during the lead-up to CNY 2025. Many suppliers may face increased demand and operational challenges, so staying in touch keeps you informed.
Inquire about potential delays and work together to develop strategies to overcome them. Ensure that by January 22, you and your team have aligned on communication expectations.
Anticipate a potential communication blackout during CNY. Ask your suppliers for a specific timeframe when operations will return to normal. This will allow you to plan your inventory and order fulfillment processes effectively. Clear communication helps mitigate risks and ensures a smoother sales period.
Communication disruptions during CNY can delay order fulfillment and hamper a business’s reputation.
Locad solves this with Advance Shipping Notices (ASNs). This gives warehouses advance notice of incoming shipments, so your team can prepare in time.
Avoid Stockouts
Stockouts during the Chinese New Year sale can severely impact customer satisfaction and sales performance. Monitor inventory levels closely and reorder popular items well before they run out.
Including safety stock is essential to buffer against unexpected surges in demand. To calculate safety stock, consider factors like maximum daily orders and lead times. For instance, imagine you anticipate a maximum of 50 daily orders with a lead time extending to 90 days during CNY 2025. This is compared to an average of 30 daily orders with a normal lead time of 30 days. Then, your safety stock should be around 3,600 units. This ensures you have a cushion to handle fluctuations and avoid stockouts.
Buffer stock is crucial to avoid stockouts and meet unexpected demand
Locad’s smart inventory lock feature lets retailers reserve stock for big sales and manage differential demand across marketplaces.ere
Use the Most Effective Sales Channels
Identify which sales channels have historically performed well for your business and focus your efforts there. This could be your e-commerce website, major online marketplaces, or social media platforms. Some of the top sales channels in Singapore include Shopee, Lazada, Amazon and Tiktok Shop. By concentrating on the channels that generate the most traffic and conversions, you can optimize your marketing spend and maximize sales during the Chinese New Year Sale.
Customers visit an average of 4.2 websites before making a purchase.
Locad integrates with top marketplaces like Shopee, Lazada, Zalora, eBay, Amazon, and more to streamline multichannel selling.
Offer Limited Editions and Gift Bundles
Limited edition products tap into the psychology of FOMO (Fear of Missing Out). This urgency motivates shoppers to purchase quickly, thereby driving sales. Introduce exclusive, limited-edition products and festive gift bundles tailored for CNY 2025.Retailers that implement product bundling strategies often see a significant increase in average order value. For instance, one brand reported a 20% increase in AOV for orders that included product bundles compared to those that did not.
By offering gift bundles at a discounted rate, retailers create an attractive proposition that encourages purchases.
Locad’s bundling and kitting services streamline inventory prep and speed up the pick-and-pack process, reducing fulfillment time.
Utilize Festive Packaging
Enhance the customer experience with festive packaging that reflects the spirit of Chinese New Year. 2025 is the Year of the Snake, and red, an auspicious color, symbolizes good luck and prosperity. Red envelopes, or “ang bao,” are traditionally given during the holiday to bring blessings for the new year. By using red and gold in your packaging, you align with these cultural symbols and make your products more appealing. This thoughtful detail can create a memorable unboxing experience, leading to greater customer satisfaction.
Festive packaging enhances your products and connects with holiday traditions.
Locad offers custom packaging, custom labeling, and gift wrap to make your products stand out.
Social Media Promotions
Social media is a powerful tool for promoting your Chinese New Year Sale. ~ 74% of consumers use social media to make purchasing decisions. Use targeted ads to reach specific demographics and boost your visibility. Engaging with your audience through comments and direct messages can also help build stronger customer relationships.
Transparency with Customers
Be transparent with your customers about potential challenges, such as shipping delays or limited stock availability. Clearly outline return policies, shipping timelines, and any changes due to the holiday season. Keeping customers informed helps manage their expectations and reduces the likelihood of dissatisfaction.
Retailers that maintain transparency about their operations can experience better sales outcomes.
Locad generates shareable tracking links, allowing customers to track their orders in real-time and stay updated on the delivery progress.
Plan Your Order Fulfillment Process
An order is considered accurate if delivered on time, to the right customer, and in the right condition. During peak events like the Chinese New Year Sale, customers expect fast deliveries. A well-planned order fulfillment process ensures that retailers can meet these expectations. To plan your fulfillment process:
- Choose a Fulfillment Method
- Select Reliable Carriers
- Set Clear Order Cutoff Times
- Plan for Peak Periods
A benchmark for effective order fulfillment is an on-time shipping rate of 93.4% or higher.
During a recent sale, Locad fulfilled 99.4% of orders on the same day.
Showcase Your Products to International Markets
About a quarter of the world’s population, or two billion people, celebrate the Lunar New Year. Consumer spending during this time reached an estimated $1.5 trillion worldwide in 2023.The Chinese New Year Sale is not just a local event—it’s an opportunity to reach global customers. Promote your products to markets like Southeast Asia, the USA, and Australia, where the festive spirit is celebrated. Leverage global e-commerce platforms and social media ads targeted at these regions to expand your customer base. Locad’s presence in the USA, Australia, China, and the GCC can help you sell in the markets and attract buyers.
CNY is celebrated across multiple countries, offering a global sales opportunity.
Locad simplifies cross-border commerce with importer of record (I0R), seller of record (SOR), and freight forwarding services.
Conclusion
As the Chinese New Year Sale approaches, e-commerce sellers have a golden opportunity to boost revenue. While preparing for this peak season, it’s crucial to remain adaptable and proactive. Success in this period requires more than just offering discounts—align your inventory, marketing, and fulfillment. As you approach this vibrant sales season, a well-executed plan can transform the Chinese New Year Sales into a significant milestone.
