Tag: Chinese New Year

5 Ways ETP Unify Can Help Retailers Tap Into the Chinese New Year Boom

Posted on by Omprasad Devadiga

Chinese New Year, also known as the Spring Festival, is an occasion for rejoicing, celebrating, and, above all, sales. The largest holiday in China’s cultural calendar brings a sea of consumer spending that can prove to be the difference between being in the red and black. To be ready to cash in on this gold rush, retailers must be geared up, flexible, and prompt. This is where ETP Unify—the powerful, cloud-native unified commerce retail platform—comes in.

The Year of the Snake – 2025

As we step into the year 2025, according to the Chinese zodiac calendar, we welcome the Year of the Snake. The ‘Snake’ symbolises wisdom, intuition, and prosperity. It is believed that the Year of the Snake would be a period of transformation and growth. This period is very auspicious for retailers to:

  • Formulate new strategies
  • Adopt innovative technologies like ETP Unify
  • Benefit from the energy of the Chinese New Year
  • Set the course for a bright year ahead

Ways ETP Unify Can Help Retailers Capitalise on the Chinese New Year Boom

Optimised Inventory Management

Chinese New Year shopping is characterised by increased purchases of gifts, food, clothing, and decorations. Retailers need to ensure their shelves are stocked with popular items. ETP Unify has advanced inventory management features that enable retailers to keep stock at optimal levels, avoiding stockouts or overstocking. ETP Unify’s real-time inventory tracking and automated replenishment ensure the right products are available at the right time.

Read our blog on the benefits of ETP’s Unified Inventory Management System

Enhanced Customer Experience

Shoppers during Chinese New Year expect hassle-free and fun shopping experiences. ETP Unify assists retailers in enhancing customer experience through:

  • Personalised promotions
  • Targeted marketing campaigns
  • Efficient customer service

ETP Unify helps retailers make every customer feel valued, whether through special discounts, festive offers, or personalised greetings.

Integrated Omni-channel Retailing

Today’s customers expect seamless shopping across all channels—online, in-store, or mobile. ETP Unify ensures an integrated shopping experience by synchronising sales channels. This provides a unified view of inventory, orders, and customer data, helping retailers maximise sales opportunities.

Learn more about omni-channel fulfilment

Agile and Scalable Operations

The surge in sales during Chinese New Year can overwhelm unprepared retailers. ETP Unify offers agility and scalability to handle increased sales volumes efficiently. Its scalable infrastructure supports expansion, such as:

  • Adding new stores
  • Launching new products
  • Entering new markets

Data-Driven Insights and Analytics

To capitalise on Chinese New Year, understanding consumer behaviour and market trends is crucial. ETP Unify provides actionable insights into customer preferences, sales trends, and product performance. Retailers can make informed decisions regarding:

  • Product assortments
  • Pricing strategies
  • Promotional activities

Discover how retailers can leverage holiday sales data

ETP Unify offers a holistic suite of retail management solutions, helping retailers optimise inventory, enhance customer experiences, integrate omni-channel operations, scale their businesses, and make data-driven decisions. By using ETP Unify, retailers can maximise sales during Chinese New Year and achieve long-term success in the ever-changing retail landscape.

Chinese New Year is the new mega shopping festival

Posted on by admin

etp-chinese-new-year-blogpost

Friday, 16th February 2018 marks the beginning of the Chinese New Year. The 2018 Chinese New Year – the Year of the Dog begins nineteen days later than the Chinese New Year 2017, which started on January 28. Also known as Spring Festival in China, the Chinese/Lunar New Year (CNY) is the prime national holiday in Greater China. It is also celebrated in regions with a substantial Chinese population, particularly in South-East Asia and in the Chinatowns of cities worldwide, from Vancouver in Canada to London in UK to Lima in Peru. In China, the official holiday lasts seven days.

In the weeks leading up to the Chinese New Year, shoppers purchase across several categories in preparation for the Lunar New Year, with a sales uplift in average daily sales across fashion (71%), food and groceries (101%), and health and beauty (56%).

Many sales happen on mobile devices especially through the mobile apps. In Singapore and Vietnam, sales surge in the fashion sub vertical were 29% and 99% higher in-app than on mobile web, respectively.

Data from 2017 shows a 35% overall rise in daily online retail sales across Southeast Asia around two or three weeks before Chinese New Year, meaning marketers should start their campaigns 3-4 weeks before CNY to win new customers and maximize sales.

People are also looking for experiences. Travel sales pick up 2-3 weeks before Chinese New Year and even more so in the weeks after, especially for certain countries in the region. Three weeks before Chinese New Year shows an average increase of 33% in travel sales in Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Singapore. But a larger surge occurs after Chinese New Year across the region, when Vietnam and Hong Kong see a 75% and 70% increase in daily online travel sales, respectively.

Traditionally, the festival used to be about reunions within China, where many families were separated by work during the year. Millions of economic migrants, students, office workers and others made the annual exodus from their work locations to their hometowns, leading to one of the world’s biggest mass-transportation occasion. The relatively new idea that families can enjoy time together elsewhere is also gaining popularity. A number of countries, including France, UK and the US are easing visa regulations for Chinese nationals in order to lure a lucrative influx of free-spending travelers.

The Chinese New Year (CNY) opportunity is being increasingly explored by a number of international retailers globally as Chinese consumers continue to assert their global purchasing power. With the booming numbers of Chinese travelling during the CNY period and with retailers always on the lookout for new sales opportunities, a growing focus on this mega event similar to the likes of Black Friday is necessary.

In fact, the globalization of CNY fits into a wider trend, which is seeing the reach of once-local events and promotions extend across the globe. Previously, exclusively market-specific events such as Black Friday, Oktoberfest or Singles Day are increasingly being adopted internationally – due to increased travel, the growth of ecommerce and social media, and the globalization of media in general.

With this in mind, retailers everywhere will have to take CNY seriously. This could mean partnering with strong, authentic Chinese brands (providing them an opportunity to develop in new markets), as well as investing in in-store value added services such as hiring Chinese-speaking staff or having websites developed in Mandarin/Cantonese language and bespoke promotional material specifically targeted at these shoppers.