Tibet sees rapid development of e-commerce

In 2011, JD.Com established a self-operated delivery terminal for the first time and started its small parcel delivery service in the Tibet autonomous region.

In 2015, JD Logistics officially launched its large parcel delivery business in the autonomous region, seeing the first refrigerator delivered to a customer after an 11-day journey.

On May 25, 2017, JD Logistics officially put its warehouse-logistics park in Tibet into operation, realizing, for the first time, its goal of same-day delivery in the autonomous region. The first exclusive logistics park owned by an e-commerce enterprise in the Tibet autonomous region was upgraded to a public logistics warehousing and delivery center in the autonomous region in December 2020, where 80 percent of commodities are delivered locally and the same-day delivery coverage further expanded.

The development path of JD Logistics is a reflection of the rapid development of e-commerce in the Tibet autonomous region. In the last 10 years, Tibet has seen e-commerce start from scratch and grow into a thriving industry. Data showed that in 2021, online retail sales in the region reached 18.97 billion yuan ($2.71 billion),  45 times that of 2015 and leading the country in terms of growth. Online sales during this year's Singles Day (November 11) shopping spree hit 1.88 billion yuan across the autonomous region, registering an increase of 29.8 percent year on year.

The rapid development of e-commerce in Tibet is attributed to the constant optimization of government services. Over the past decade, the autonomous region has promulgated a series of policies and regulations to encourage the development of e-commerce and has established a policy system featuring multi-channel and multi-layer support for the e-commerce development.

Over the past 10 years, several well-known e-commerce enterprises have established branches in the region. The people's government of the Tibet autonomous region has signed an "Internet +" comprehensive strategic cooperation framework agreement with JD Group; the commerce department of the autonomous region has signed an "Internet + Logistics" comprehensive strategic cooperation framework agreement with SF Express Group, with SF Express cargo planes flying five round trip flights between Lhasa and Chengdu every week; Suning Logistics has also launched operations in Lhasa, with its delivery network and after-sales network expanding in the autonomous region. At present, express delivery enterprises, such as JD Logistics and SF Express, have expanded their businesses to cover all counties and a selection of towns in the autonomous region, indicating the initial establishment of an e-commerce network covering both urban and rural areas of the region.

Stimulated by the robust development of e-commerce, the Lhasa Department Store, Baiyi Supermarket, Kulhadardong Supermarket, and Wanda Plaza have all launched online sales, transforming their traditional bricks and mortar business model into online+offline sales model. Local enterprises, such as Tibet Glacier 5100 spring water, Tibet Golden Hada Cashmere Products, Tibet Tianzhi Biology, Yak Dairy, and Qisheng local specialty, have all quickened their pace in developing e-commerce via either building their own online shopping platforms or cooperating with third party e-commerce platforms to upgrade their business structures.

"Nowadays, we can sell tricholoma matsutake from home (via e-commerce platform), which was unimaginable before", said Drolma Yangzom, a villager from Bahe town, Gongbogyada county, Nyingchi city. This year, Drolma Yangzom has not only sold all of her tricholoma matsutake via e-commerce livestreaming platforms, but also helped fellow villagers sell their produce.

Ten years ago, free shipping service was a rare thing for people in Tibet. Nowadays, some townships in the region have been covered by such service.

Based on the comprehensive demonstration projects of developing e-commerce in rural areas, Tibet has established an e-commerce industrial park at the autonomous region level, an e-commerce science and technology incubator park, an e-commerce public service center  at the autonomous region level,  a logistics, warehousing and distribution center, as well as three e-commerce public service centers and three logistics, warehousing and distribution centers at the prefecture city level. The region has also eatablished 74 county-level e-commerce public service centers and 1,090 village e-commerce service stations.

The rapid development of e-commerce in the Tibet autonomous region has enthused farmers and herdsmen to participate in the business. According to incomplete statistics, more than 2,000 livestreaming e-commerce events were held in the region in 2021 alone, attracting up to 60 million viewers and selling commodities worth more than 30 million yuan. Meanwhile, the region has also intensified efforts in talent cultivation for e-commerce, offering more than 60,000 training opportunities. The number of e-commerce businesses reached 35,000 in the region.

"Tibet is different now!" said Internet influencer known as Tibet Lhamo. On Douyin, the Chinese version of TikTok, she shares her daily life in the rural area of Tibet with her more than 1 million followers, and holds livestreaming sessions to promote local produce, such as butter, for her fellow villagers. During her livestream, some followers would ask questions like "do you have fresh vegetables in Tibet ?" To answer the question, she shot a short video showing how she cooked fresh vegetables at home.

Over the past ten years, e-commerce has changed the way people work and live in Tibet and has gradually become a new driver of economic growth in the region. E-commerce has also brought more convenience and happiness to the people in Tibet.