How to Get Ready for the Chinese New Year Shutdown 2025?

Spring Festival, also known as the Chinese New Year, is considered the greatest holiday for the Chinese, with all the family gathering around and giving best wishes for the next lunar new year! The holidays usually last five to ten days--with office employees taking gradual leaves, manufacturers stopping production early, and shipping companies starting to limit pickup and processing.

Chinese New Year starts earlier this year, from Jan. 28 to Feb. 3, 2025, which shortens the preparation period for retailers who source from China. The potential issues include, but are not limited to: product supply shortages, logistical delivery delays, communication inefficiencies, and delayed after-sales. Meanwhile, the ongoing turmoil in tariff policies across the world has enhanced the urgency and uncertainty of this year's preparation plans.

How to face the Chinese New Year shutdowns this year? How to reduce the impacts and ensure your store's performance? Check out the following content and protect your dropshipping business from supply chain disruption!

The Coming Challenges in the 2025 Beginning

The approaching 2025 is bound to be a new year of new opportunities and challenges. For businesses that relied on the Chinese supply chain, besides the holiday shutdown, the Trump tariffs are another thing to worry about. Though President-elect Donald Trump will take office on Jan. 20, he has promised massive hikes in tariffs on goods coming from Mexico, Canada, and China starting on the first day of his administration. This policy will inevitably add burdens on dropshippers sourcing from China. This requires fully considering the challenges of tariff changes as preparing for the CNY shutdown (since the policy can be issued earlier than the Chinese New Year shutdown arrives).

Best Tips to Get Ready for the Chinese New Year 2025

1. Start Preparation Early

To ensure smooth operations during the CNY shutdowns accompanied by the coming tariff policy, set up a comprehensive plan covering marketing, sales, inventory, and emergency strategies. Leverage market research and previous sales data of your stores to summarize and predict sales volume for the following at least one month. Targeted stock management and marketing preparation may avoid disruptions.

2. Communicate with Your Suppliers

Effective communication with your suppliers is key to avoiding potential issues like inventory shortages or shipping delays. Confirm holiday schedules and the last lead times early. Coordinate production schedules and inventory availability based on sales performances and plans. To save more effort, you may turn to SourcinBox--a professional sourcing agent--to better communicate with reliable Chinese manufacturers.

3. Stock Up in Advance

If some products in your stores have a stable sale or growing demand, we highly recommend pre-ordering enough inventory to meet demand during the Chinese New Year shutdown. Partnering with a sourcing agent who offers inventory storage service is another solution to avoid possible supply gaps in the next months, especially when potential delays post-holiday as factories ramp back up.

4. Consider Alternative Shipping Options

While shipping capacity may be limited during the Spring Festival due to manpower shortages, some logistics still provide operations during the holidays. Of course, these shipping methods can be relatively more expensive. If possible, you may increase your shipping budgets and adjust shipping methods flexibly to ensure your orders are fulfilled normally.

5. Optimize Customer Support

Optimizing your customer support can effectively compensate for the dissatisfaction contributed by the supply chain issues. Timely explanations and reasonable solutions can prevent bad reviews and build trust. Make your return and refund policies concise, and ensure after-sales contact details are easily accessible to handle inquiries from customers effectively.

SourcinBox Always be Your Devoted Partner for Order Fulfillment

Though the holiday season has not ended, for dropshippers sourcing from China, getting well-prepared for the coming 2025 is never too early. A reliable partner like SourcinBox can effectively reduce your losses during the Chinese New Year shutdowns. Just feel free to contact us to get more support for stocking up ahead, Chinese suppliers connection, and shipping channel screening, inventory warehousing.