One-third of China's overabundant shopping malls will close in five years, while the rest will have to transform to survive, according to a report by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

中国社会科学院近日发布的一份报告显示，未来5年，我国数量过多的购物中心将有1/3关张，其余的将须通过转型才能生存。

Shopping centers are rapidly losing their appeal in many cities due to their lack of competitive strengths, the report said.

报告称，由于缺乏竞争力，许多城市的购物中心正迅速失去吸引力。

Qingdao in Shandong Province, Chongqing Municipality, and the northeastern city of Dalian in Liaoning Province all reported closures of large shopping centers at the end of August.

山东省青岛市，重庆市，以及东北的辽宁大连市，都有报告称大型购物中心已于在8月底关闭。

The report said one-third of the malls would change into wholesale¹ or retail² marketplaces, with an emphasis on customer experiences. Another third will have to integrate online shopping with brick-and-mortar outlets³.

该报告指出，1/3的购物中心将转型为注重顾客体验的批发或零售市场，还有1/3将须实现线上与线下对接。

An expert said stores were closing their doors as a result of economic restructuring, especially the rise of online shopping.

一位专家表示，商店关张的原因在于经济结构调整，尤其是网购的兴起。

Studies show that 138 department stores, 262 supermarkets and 6,209 sports stores closed from 2012 to 2015.

研究显示，从2012年到2015年，有138家百货商店、262家超市、6209家体育用品店关闭。

The decline is also due to the oversupply⁴ of shopping malls encouraged by regional governments.

地方政府的支持导致购物中心数量过多，也是实体店铺数量减少的原因。

Jing Linbo, director of the Chinese Evaluation⁵ Center for Humanities and Social Sciences, said shopping malls need to reform their business models to compete with e-commerce.

中国人文社会科学评价研究中心主任荆林波表示，购物中心需要改革他们的商业模式来与电子商务竞争。