Last year, Isetan Department Store in Meilong Town, which had accompanied the people of Shanghai for 27 years, officially closed down, and the sales of Shanghai Plaza 66 dropped by 22%. Recently, it was reported that Beijing SKP, known as the “King of Global luxury stores”, will sell 42% to 45% of its equity.

The established shopping malls in first-tier cities have been hit by a series of store closures one after another, and the luxury shopping malls at the top of the pyramid are also having a hard time. The once bustling shopping floor has gradually become quiet, relying entirely on B1 and B2 to keep it going.

In the face of changes in the consumption environment and habits, how to regain the past glory has become a common problem for shopping malls nowadays. Among them, the most popular solution is undoubtedly the “2D anime adaptation”. From Tianfu Hong in Chengdu to Joy City in Jing ‘an, from Bailian ZX in Shanghai to BOM Xifanli, a large number of old shopping malls are being rejuvenated.

With templates in place, more and more shopping malls are also shifting their focus from “crowds” to “circles”, attempting to find solutions to mainstream consumption within subcultures.

But is the second dimension really the best solution for all shopping malls? Will the young people attracted through the circle culture be willing to pay for other business forms in the shopping mall, especially retail?

If the current recharge is not enough, can the second dimension make up for it?

There are generally two models for shopping malls to be transformed into 2D characters.

The first approach is to make a complete transformation, turning into a pure 2D shopping mall, engaging in highly specialized business, and taking an extremely niche path. A representative one is the Tianfu Red from Chengdu.