Remote and mountainous areas like Tibet are no longer "forgotten corners" amid China's rapid technological development and economic growth, since digital tools, such as e-commerce, can narrow the gap created by geographical distances, experts said. During this year's Singles Day online shopping festival on Nov 11, online sales of products from the Tibet autonomous region on major e-commerce platform JD surged 1,141 percent compared to Oct 11. The number of online orders during the shopping festival in 2017 grew 3,000 times compared to 2008, according to JD.

With online sales continuing to rise, retailers have to ensure they are operationally robust to deliver on time, able to change direction at a moment’s notice, and offer flexible delivery alternatives to avoid letting customers down.