As the Chinese New Year approaches, products featuring Chinese New Year elements are selling like hotcakes overseas.

In an effort to seize the business opportunities brought by the "Chinese New Year economy," many cross-border merchants have ramped up their stock in overseas warehouses. According to Cainiao Global Supply Chain data, since December 2024, New Year gift boxes have replaced Christmas decorations as the top category for stock-in in Cainiao's U.S. overseas warehouses, with a year-on-year growth of nearly 30 times.

Reportedly, as a global cultural celebration, the Chinese New Year is now a statutory holiday in nearly 20 countries, with about 1/5 of the world's population celebrating the Lunar New Year in various ways. Not long ago, the Chinese New Year was officially listed as part of the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. As this marks the first Chinese New Year after its successful inclusion, the enthusiasm of overseas consumers for celebrating the festival is higher than in previous years.

On the consumer side, reports show that on certain e-commerce platforms, primarily targeting U.S. consumers, a wide variety of Chinese New Year decorations and festive items are already available for sale. Among these, Year of the Snake red envelopes, couplets, window decorations, chocolate coins, and other items have each had more than 1,000 sales for multiple product listings over the past month.

Photo: Screenshot of a product listing for Year of the Snake red envelopes on an e-commerce platform

"This is just a minor sales peak," said Mr. Lin, a cross-border merchant specializing in festive products. "Based on past experience, there will be another peak about one week before the Chinese New Year. Since most merchants choose to stock up in overseas warehouses ahead of time, U.S. consumers can receive their orders within 2-3 days when shipped from Cainiao overseas warehouses. It’s also more convenient for us merchants, with guaranteed delivery times and stable access to overseas traffic."

Photo: Cainiao’s first-leg cargo flight loaded with goods bound for the U.S.

To ensure consumers can happily receive their orders and merchants can ship with peace of mind, Cainiao’s overseas warehouses are leveraging end-to-end logistics resources. This includes securing first-leg sea and air transport capacity ahead of time to meet cross-border merchants' demand for concentrated shipments before the Chinese New Year. Additionally, for last-mile delivery in the U.S. and other regions, Cainiao is collaborating with its self-built local courier service and other high-quality local delivery partners to adjust transportation capacity based on shipment volume forecasts, improving final delivery efficiency.

Photo: Scene inside one of Cainiao’s U.S. overseas warehouses

It is understood that Cainiao’s global supply chain operates over 40 overseas warehouses across 18 countries and regions in Europe, North America, and Asia-Pacific, providing end-to-end supply chain management and warehousing and delivery services to a vast number of domestic and international brands and merchants. In North America, Cainiao’s overseas warehouses are organized into four major clusters—West Coast, East Coast, South, and Southeast—maintaining a leading position in the industry in terms of storage space. Their 2-3 day delivery capability covers the entire U.S.

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WeChat Public Account: Cross-border E-commerce Logistics Baixiaosheng