(Yicai Global) Aug. 28 -- The number of shopping centers in China is expected to double by 2025 as the country becomes the most active global market in the construction of malls, but the traditional model may see a transformation.

Three shopping complexes opened in Guangzhou, Guangdong province, in August alone, National Business Daily reported. As of the end of last year, the number of medium- and large-sized shopping malls in the country was higher than 4,000, according to a report by China Chain operation Association.

China is expected to open up to 864 shopping centers this year, according to data from Winshang, while China Shopping Center Development Association forecasts there will be around 10,000 by 2025.

While the construction of centers is advancing by leaps and bounds, the industry is faced with a lack of effective supply and too much ineffective supply, insiders said. Traditional shopping centers have hit a bottleneck in terms of development and need to transform into 'experience centers' and tourist destinations to develop further.

Traditional malls focus on department store retailing. They lack leisure facilities and need to beef up in terms of fashion, said Wang Yuke, general manager of China's largest commercial real estate consultancy RET Commercial Co. They need to provide more high-end products in a broader range of categories and develop new formats for the future, he added.

Typical shopping centers need to have the courage to transform into experience centers to achieve a multi-level mixed income structure, Xie Meng, vice chairman of the Excellence International Group, told National Business Daily.