2022 Chinese New Year Merchant Operations Guide

As the Year of Tiger approaches, Wish wishes everyone a Happy 2022 Chinese New Year! Thank you for your support of Wish in 2021. We wish you good health and best luck in the new year!

Wish provides various features and solutions to help merchants prepare for the holiday season. In this article, we specifically address the following to help merchants optimize their operations during the holiday:

1. Fulfillment Setting Options Available to Merchants

• All warehouse(s) operational
• Primary warehouse fulfillment extension - 2022 Chinese New Year
• Pause Primary warehouse only
• Pause all warehouse(s)

1. Advanced Logistics Program and EPC Blue Preparation
2. WishPost 3PL Carriers Holiday Schedules
3. Wish Express and Overseas Inventory Operations
4. Bonus Budget for ProductBoost

Please note that this article will be frequently updated throughout the next few days/weeks leading up to the 2022 Chinese New Year holiday, so please be sure to check back regularly for any new information.

 

1. Fulfillment Setting Options available to merchants:

Fulfillment settings available to merchants:

Merchants are expected to fulfill as quickly as possible to provide timely delivery for creating the best customer experience and prevent refunds.

To accommodate the holiday schedule, for orders released to Mainland China-based merchants only between January 17, 2022 12:00AM Beijing Time and February 15, 2022 11:59PM Beijing Time, the following fulfillment options are available to accommodate the holiday time off via the Merchant Dashboard Settings > Vacation page:

• All warehouse(s) operational

If merchants do not select one of the options below, they will not receive any fulfillment timeline extensions, and the standard fulfillment timeline will apply. If an extension or adjustments are necessary and required, please review the options below.

• Primary warehouse fulfillment extension - 2022 Chinese New Year

For orders released during the above-defined time period and shipped from merchants’ Primary warehouse (excluding all Wish Express orders and Fulfillment By Wish orders), merchants may designate their own fulfillment extension between 1 to 7 calendar days. This will also apply an adjustment to Merchant Policy 5.1, Merchant Policy 5.5 and Merchant Policy 7.5. This means merchants can designate an extension of 1 to 7 calendar days in addition to the standard 5-calendar-day mark shipped timeline (per Policy 5.1), 168-hour or 336-hour confirmed fulfilled timeline (per Policy 5.5) and X-calendar-day confirmed delivered timeline (per Policy 7.5). The selected extension timeline will be added to both the marked shipped, confirmed fulfilled, and confirmed delivered timestamps. For example:

• If a merchant selects a 3-calendar-day fulfillment extension, this merchant can mark an above-defined order as “shipped” within 8 calendar days after the order released time (extended from 5 calendar days, per the normal Merchant Policy 5.1). As long as the order is marked shipped within 8 calendar days, it will NOT be refunded automatically or penalized $50 per auto-refunded order.
• In addition, if the order’s (merchant price per item + shipping price per item) is less than $100, the order can then be confirmed fulfilled within 10 calendar days after the order released time (extended from 7 calendar days/168 hours, per the normal Merchant Policy 5.5). If confirmed fulfilled within 10 calendar days, this order will NOT be penalized 20% of the order value, or $1.00 (whichever is greater).
• If a refund occurs and the order is confirmed delivered by X+3 calendar days (extended from X calendar days, per the normal Merchant Policy 7.5) after the order is released to the merchant, the merchant will NOT be responsible for the cost of the refund.
• Please note that by choosing Primary warehouse fulfillment extension - 2022 Chinese New Year, your estimated arrival time that the customers see will be moderately extended; your product impressions and conversion may decrease moderately as well.
• Please also note that the fulfillment extension will not be applied to re-released orders.

As we recently announced, monetary infraction penalties (outlined here: https://merchant.wish.com/penalties/policies) will be deprecated and instead be reflected in Wish Standards performance metrics, on or after February 6, 2022 UTC. As a result, Merchant Policy 5.1, Merchant Policy 5.5, and the corresponding penalties mentioned above will be updated or deprecated on or after February 6, 2022 UTC. Please note that merchants will still be responsible for any infraction penalties issued to merchants prior to the date this change goes into effect, as per current Wish terms and policy.  

For merchants who are qualified for Wish Standards, note that selecting this fulfillment extension has no impact on your Wish Standards performance metrics related to order fulfillment.

• Pause Primary warehouse only

Selecting this option is helpful for merchants who are not able to fulfill orders from their Primary warehouse, but can still fulfill orders from their Secondary warehouses, which are essentially overseas warehouses for Mainland China merchants.

• Merchants can sell product inventory stocked in their overseas warehouses by setting up product-level shipping settings and “max delivery days” for their products in their overseas warehouses, regardless of whether the products qualify for Wish Express or not (depending on the max delivery days that merchants set for specific destination countries). Please visit this article to learn how to add overseas inventory to Secondary warehouses and customize shipping price and max delivery days.
• Choosing this option will set all products in the Primary warehouse as not available for sale.
• Please ensure that the operations of overseas warehouses during the 2022 Chinese New Year are effective and timely.

 

• Pause all warehouse(s)

If none of the above options sufficiently meet merchants’ needs during the holiday, merchants can select the “Pause All warehouse(s)” option. Please note that should merchants decide to select this option for their stores, all products will be disabled and will be shown as "Sold Out" to users during the vacation period.

 

If merchants do not need an extension, or merchants do not need to select the Pause Primary warehouse only or Pause all warehouse(s) option, no action is required, and the standard 5-calendar-day fulfillment/“mark shipped” timeline still stands.

 

We strongly encourage that merchants continue operating their stores and warehouses during the holiday and NOT to pause all warehouse(s) unless absolutely necessary. As a reminder, note that if merchants select the Pause Primary warehouse only or Pause all warehouse(s) option, the overall order volume may decrease. As a result, Platinum tier merchants may face the risk of leveling down. (As mentioned in this article, to qualify for Platinum tier, merchants need to reach--and maintain--at least 100 matured orders within the last 30 calendar days.)

 

Configure fulfillment settings for 2022 Chinese New Year store operations

 

Merchants can now configure the fulfillment settings for the 2022 Chinese New Year. To make a selection, first navigate to the Merchant Dashboard Settings > Vacation page. 

You will then see the following details:

The “Current setting” will show “All warehouse(s) operational” (i.e., no extension) if merchants haven’t already selected “Pause primary warehouse only” or “Pause all warehouse(s)”.

The “Setting types” section summarizes the four types of selections merchants can make, as outlined in detail above: 

• All warehouse(s) operational
• Primary warehouse fulfillment extension - 2022 Chinese New Year
• Pause Primary warehouse only
• Pause all warehouse(s) 

To start making changes, please click “Edit” on this page and select an option in the popup modal that follows. For example, merchants choose Primary warehouse fulfillment extension - 2022 Chinese New Year, designate the number of extension days (1 to 7) and click “Save” to confirm selection:

Merchants are then redirected to the Vacation settings page and will see their scheduled selection presented as below, taking effect for all orders shipped from their Primary warehouse and released between January 17, 2022 12:00AM Beijing Time and February 15, 2022 11:59PM Beijing Time.

 

Merchants may update the extension days anytime until February 15, 2022 11:59PM Beijing Time. However, updates made to the number of extension days will apply only to orders released after the time they make the update. For example,

• Merchant does not set up any fulfillment extension settings on January 17, 2022 Beijing Time.

• • Order A releases with no fulfillment extension.

• Merchant then sets a fulfillment extension with 3 calendar days on January 18, 2022 9:00AM Beijing Time.

• • Order A still has no fulfillment extension.
  • Order B released after January 18, 2022 9:00AM Beijing Time will have a 3-calendar-day fulfillment extension, with a total of 8 calendar days fulfillment period available.

• Merchant later updates the fulfillment extension to 7 calendar days on February 1, 2022 11:00AM Beijing Time.

• • Order A still has no fulfillment extension and Order B (if released before Feb 1, 2022 11:00 AM Beijing Time) has 3-calendar-day fulfillment extension.
  • Order C released after February 1, 2022 11:00AM Beijing Time will have a 7-calendar-day fulfillment extension, with a total of 12 calendar days fulfillment period available.

 

Note: If your “Current setting” or “Scheduled setting” for the upcoming holiday is “Pause primary warehouse only” or “Pause all warehouse(s)”, you can still select and schedule a Primary warehouse fulfillment extension by following the above steps. However, if the time period that you set for “Pause primary warehouse only” or “Pause all warehouse(s)” has overlap with the above defined time period (i.e., from January 17, 2022 12:00AM Beijing Time to February 15, 2022 11:59PM Beijing Time), the “Pause primary warehouse only” or “Pause all warehouse(s)” will take priority during the overlap period, depending on your setting. This means all products in your Primary warehouse or all warehouse(s) will be not available for sale and you will not receive orders - from your Primary warehouse or all warehouse(s) during the overlap time. For example,

• Merchant has set up to pause Primary warehouse only from January 10, 2022 12:00AM Beijing Time to January 20, 2022 12:00AM Beijing Time.
• On January 14, 2022 5:00PM Beijing Time, merchant sets up a fulfillment extension with 3 calendar days.
• The fulfillment extension setting has a 3-calendar-day overlap with “Pause Primary warehouse only”. As a result, merchant will NOT receive orders from Primary warehouse from January 17, 2022 12:00AM Beijing Time to January 20, 2022 12:00AM Beijing Time.

 

Therefore, if you have already paused or scheduled to pause your Primary warehouse or all warehouse(s) for the holiday and now would like to leverage the Primary warehouse fulfillment extension, in order to avoid overlaps, we strongly encourage you to check and reschedule your vacation setting before setting up Primary warehouse fulfillment extension.

 

2. Advanced Logistics Program and EPC Blue Preparation

Please note that merchants are strongly encouraged to fulfill their Advanced Logistics Program and EPC Blue orders as quickly as possible to provide timely delivery for creating the best customer experience and to prevent refunds. 

We strongly encourage that merchants continuously fulfill Advanced Logistics Program and EPC Blue orders during the 2022 Chinese New Year holiday. For merchants utilizing Yanwen and Wise as their pickup carriers, please make arrangements in advance and confirm pickup appointments with first-mile pickup carriers before January 25, 2022 12:00AM Beijing Time. 

As Yanwen will be on holiday from January 31, 2022 to February 2, 2022, merchants utilizing Yanwen as the first-mile pickup carrier regularly can instead leverage Wish’s HUB Program and the STO Express pickup services based on Wish <> STO Express special partnership during this period while Yanwen’s first-mile pickup service is unavailable.

If merchants have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact WishPost Customer Service

Please note that the Primary warehouse fulfillment extension - 2022 Chinese New Year selected by merchants per No.1 “Fulfillment Setting Options” outlined above will apply to Advanced Logistics Program and EPC Blue orders released between January 17, 2021 12:00AM Beijing Time and February 15, 2022 11:59PM Beijing Time.

More specifically, merchants’ corresponding parcels must arrive at the correct Advanced Logistics Program and EPC Blue warehouses within the merchant-designated fulfillment extension timeframe (if opted in) from order release time. 

For example, a merchant selects Primary warehouse fulfillment extension - 2022 Chinese New Year and chooses to extend the fulfillment timeline by 2 calendar days. If Advanced Logistics Program or EPC Blue orders released during the above-defined time period are delivered to the corresponding warehouses within 9 calendar days after the order released time (extended from 168 hours / 7 calendar days, per the normal Merchant Policy 5.11 and 12.2), merchants will be exempt from the late arrival fee outlined in Merchant Policy 5.11 (for Advanced Logistics Program orders).

To provide merchants with the best-performing logistics service and minimize logistics-related risks in your fulfillment operation during the holiday, if you would like to leverage the Primary warehouse fulfillment extension - 2022 Chinese New Year, we strongly encourage you to complete your fulfillment extension settings by January 23, Beijing Time. 

Note that for relevant orders released outside of the above-defined time period, merchants are still required to comply with the standard 168-hour delivery timeline to warehouses for their Advanced Logistics Program and EPC Blue orders, and will be subject to the late arrival fee outlined in Merchant Policy 5.11.

In addition, the Uni-Inventory Program will operate as normal to offer storage and order fulfillment services during the upcoming 2022 Chinese New Year holiday. Therefore, it can be especially helpful for merchants to fulfill Advanced Logistics Program Orders and non-Advanced Logistics Program orders shipped via certain WishPost logistics channels. If you plan to leverage the Uni-Inventory Program during the holiday, please prepare for and deliver sufficient inventory to the Uni-Inventory warehouse in advance. To learn more about how to leverage this program for fulfilling your orders, please visit this article.

3. WishPost 3PL Carriers Holiday Schedules:

Please download this spreadsheet for detailed 2022 Chinese New Year holiday schedules for various WishPost 3PL shipping carriers.

 

4. Wish Express and Overseas Inventory Operations

During the several weeks around the 2022 Chinese New Year, Wish products that offer fast-shipping options such as those with Wish Express enabled will likely experience increased demand from customers.

In anticipation of this potentially increased demand and sales for Wish Express products, merchants are strongly encouraged to prepare for sufficient overseas and/or Wish Express inventory now. Mainland China-based merchants can set up max delivery days for their products in their Secondary warehouses (essentially overseas warehouses for merchants based in Mainland China). Based on the max delivery days set for specific destination countries, the products may or may not qualify for Wish Express, but merchants can still stock and sell them from their Secondary warehouses. To learn more about setting max delivery days for products in the Secondary warehouses, please visit this article.

In addition, merchants may consider leveraging the Uni-Freight Program to deliver their inventory to overseas warehouses located in Canada, Germany, Great Britain, the Netherlands, and the United States. Given its simple operation process and competitive service rate, the program can effectively save time, lower first-mile logistics cost, and improve last-mile efficiency for merchants with overseas inventory operations.

To learn more about how to leverage this program for your overseas inventory operations and the holiday schedule of the program, please visit this article and the program’s introduction page.

 

5. Bonus Budget for ProductBoost

To help merchants generate sales, maximize their product visibility, and better promote their listings on Wish, we will be launching the limited-time Bonus Budget promotion for merchants creating or auto-renewing ProductBoost campaigns scheduled to start between January 17, 2022 12:00AM UTC and February 11, 2022 12:00PM UTC. Campaigns scheduled to start or auto-renew after February 11, 2022 12:00PM UTC will not qualify for this round of Bonus Budget promotion.

Bonus Budget is a limited-time ProductBoost promotion available to all merchants, at no additional cost to the merchants. We strongly encourage you to leverage the “Primary warehouse fulfillment extension - 2022 Chinese New Year” per No.1 “Fulfillment Setting Options” outlined above to continue selling during the several weeks around 2022 Chinese New Year and take advantage of Bonus Budget to receive potentially increased impressions for your products. Merchants may also receive additional value from running ProductBoost campaigns during the above time frame due to reduced competition from other merchants. Please note that Bonus Budget also applies to ProductBoost campaigns with IntenseBoost enabled.

This round of Bonus Budget promotion will apply a bonus budget amount of 20% of your campaign’s original budget to your total budget, at no additional cost to you. The amount of the bonus budget spent during the campaign will be proportional to the total actual spend of the campaign (see below for an example).

 

Bonus Budget Spend Example: 

You have set a budget of $100 for a ProductBoost campaign. Bonus Budget will apply a bonus budget amount of 20% of your campaign’s original budget to your total budget. As such, a bonus of $20 will be added to your original budget of $100. After clicking Save campaign, you will have a total budget of $120 available to spend on the campaign. Your campaign runs and results in $90 of your total budget being spent. The bonus budget that was initially added to your original budget will be spent to proportionally match your now lowered total budget spend. To calculate the final used bonus budget, we use the following formula:

 

Total Budget Spend * (Bonus Budget / Total Budget) = Final Used Bonus Budget

For the above example, this would be:

90 * (20/120) = 15 

Your final used bonus budget amount here is $15. You will only be charged $75 (total budget spend of $90 minus the bonus budget spent of $15), as the bonus budget is applied to the total budget spend amount.

 

Per the above example, merchants will not be charged for their final used bonus budget, and will only be charged for their total budget spend amount minus the final used bonus budget amount for their campaign. Bonus Budget will automatically apply when a newly-created or auto-renewed ProductBoost campaign starts between January 17, 2022 12:00AM UTC and February 11, 2022 12:00PM UTC. No additional action is necessary to apply Bonus Budget. After this round of Bonus Budget promotion ends on February 11, 2022 UTC, merchants can continue to leverage ProductBoost to receive potentially increased impressions for your products. To learn more about ProductBoost, please visit this article.

 

Merchants can view a breakdown of Bonus Budget for their active and finished campaigns in Advertising > ProductBoost > View All Campaigns in Merchant Dashboard.