People still elbow their way through the silk and clothing stores where discounts are offered. In winter, many get up early to shop at herbal medicine stores for chilly season remedies.

Zhen said: "You can tell who is not shopping in the main section of Huaihai Road anymore. They are the young consumers with large purchasing power and are willing to spend on whatever they like."

The middle part of Huaihai Road needs to enhance its allure for young shoppers, he said. It needs "new brands to serve as magnets for shoppers".

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Government officials said the empty-store period won't last beyond the end of the year, as authorities and developers are promoting such things as pop-up stores - where a space can be leased for as short as three months. The previous contract term was a minimum of three years.

Yuan Geping, deputy head of Shanghai Huaihai Commercial (Group) Co Ltd, said: "Retailers can make full use of the three-month period to showcase their products and services to attract consumers. The new model is more flexible and will attract consumers seeking new brands."

Malls compete with 'social' experience

In a rooftop restaurant at K11, a high-end department store, Wang Xiaochan, a program manager at a Forbes 500 company, was having afternoon tea with three acquaintances on a sunny Sunday. Wang said the restaurant was her favorite place to meet friends.

After their refreshments, the women went to the basement of the store to see an exhibition of the works of French Impressionist painter Claude Monet.

And after that, they spent four hours and some 9,800yuan ($1,580) shopping in the mall.

To compete with surging e-commerce activity, brick-and-mortar retailers and commercial property owners are striving to attract consumers by offering something that cannot be ordered online - the social space of a physical store.

"E-commerce has indeed affected brick-and-mortar retailing. However, there are things that can't be provided by e-commerce, such as dining out, entertainment, meeting friends. These cannot be achieved by just clicking a mouse," said Fanny Leung, vice-president of Chongbang Group, developer of several lifestyle hubs in central and sub-urban Shanghai.

By promoting catering, theaters, exhibitions and music events, Chongbang has seen each of its properties in Shanghai attract an average of more than 100,000 consumers on weekends.