Chinese New Year 2026: What Dropshippers Should Do Now

Chinese New Year is just around the corner.

From everyone at Ship To The Moon, we’d like to wish you an early Happy Chinese New Year.

As the holiday approaches, the reality on the ground is already clear: most factories across China have either stopped production or are preparing to shut down. For many dropshippers, Chinese New Year is the most disruptive period of the year, as factory shutdowns directly affect dropshipping inventory and fulfillment.

The official Chinese New Year holiday runs from February 15th to February 23rd, and Ship To The Moon will continue operating and supporting sellers right up to the final working day.

If you’re reading this article now, you’re likely a dropshipper facing one of the following situations:

• You stocked up early and are carefully checking execution
• You prepared partially and are worried about potential gaps
• You didn’t prepare enough and are now looking for last-minute solutions

This article is no longer about early planning. That window has passed. Instead, we’ll focus on loss control, prioritization, and keeping your business stable during the shutdown.

First, Face Reality: What Is No Longer Possible

At this stage, clarity matters more than optimism.

Here’s what is largely off the table now:

• New production orders are no longer realistic
• Custom or private-label manufacturing has effectively stopped
• Supplier response times may already be delayed or inconsistent
• Domestic logistics capacity within China is extremely tight

This is a familiar reality for many dropshipping businesses during Chinese New Year. Understanding these limits helps you avoid risky decisions that may cause more damage later.

What You Can Still Do — And Should Do Immediately

Even this close to Chinese New Year, there are still actions that can meaningfully reduce revenue loss and operational stress.

1. Lock Down and Audit Existing Inventory

If you have any inventory already produced or in transit, this becomes your top priority.

Focus on:

• Confirming exact stock quantities
• Verifying SKU accuracy and packaging status
• Prioritizing fast-moving, higher-margin products
• Freezing unnecessary SKU changes to reduce errors

During Chinese New Year, stability is more valuable than optimization.

2. Simplify Your Product Line

This is not the time to sell everything.

Recommended actions:

• Temporarily pause low-volume or high-risk SKUs
• Concentrate ad spend on products with confirmed inventory
• Reduce variants (colors, bundles, sizes) if necessary

Fewer SKUs mean fewer fulfillment issues—and fewer customer complaints.

3. Proactively Adjust Delivery Expectations

Customer experience during Chinese New Year is largely shaped by expectation management.

Best practices include:

• Updating estimated delivery times on product pages
• Adding a short Chinese New Year notice at checkout
• Preparing customer service templates that clearly explain holiday-related delays

Clear communication now prevents refunds, disputes, and chargebacks later.

4. Use Warehouse-Based Fulfillment If Available

If your inventory is already stored in a warehouse or with a fulfillment partner that does not rely on factory operations, this is your advantage.

Warehouse-based fulfillment allows you to:

• Continue shipping while factories are closed
• Maintain stable processing timelines
• Reduce reliance on real-time supplier responses

Warehouse-based fulfillment helps dropshippers maintain dropshipping fulfillment continuity even when factories are offline.

Different Situations, Different Priorities

• If you stocked up properly: Focus on execution, monitor inventory levels closely, and keep advertising disciplined.
• If you partially stocked up: Shift sales toward well-stocked SKUs, protect margins, and avoid aggressive scaling.
• If you didn’t stock up: Pause expansion, manage expectations carefully, and prepare for post-holiday recovery rather than chasing risky fulfillment promises.

How Ship To The Moon Supports Sellers During Chinese New Year

Throughout Chinese New Year 2026, Ship To The Moon continues to support sellers with:

• Fulfillment from pre-stocked warehouse inventory
• Order processing during factory shutdowns
• Inventory visibility and SKU-level coordination
• Direct agent support to align on realistic delivery timelines

At this stage, the goal is not rapid growth—it’s continuity and control.

Looking Ahead: The Real Opportunity Begins After the Holiday

Chinese New Year doesn’t end when the holiday officially ends.

Post-holiday reality often includes:

• Backlogged factory orders
• Labor shortages
• Longer-than-normal production and shipping lead times

Sellers who remain operational during the holiday—and prepare early for post-CNY replenishment—are better positioned when demand normalizes in March.

Final

For every dropshipper, Chinese New Year is a stress test for their dropshipping business—not just their supply chain, but their decision-making discipline.

If you prepared early, stay disciplined.

If you didn’t, stay realistic.

Chinese New Year rewards planning—but it also punishes panic.

Right now, the smartest move is to protect what you have, communicate clearly with customers, and avoid decisions that may boost short-term sales at the cost of long-term damage.