Last week’s World Retail Congress Asia Pacific took a long look at the growth of online shopping in Asia.

Etailer Alibaba Group’s headquarters in Hangzhou, China

The rise of online shopping in Asia and the impact it will have on physical stores in the region was the dominant theme of the presentations at the World Retail Congress Asia Pacific in Singapore last week.

On the opening morning John Spelich, vice-president for international ecommerce business development at Alibaba Group, casually threw out some numbers that I daresay raised the blood pressure of some of the traditional retailers in the room.

Spelich claimed that Alibaba is now responsible for nearly 60% of all packages delivered in China.

Nevertheless, most present acknowledged that the bricks-and-mortar store is not dead yet and even Alibaba, like its international rival Amazon, is troubled by its lack of physical presence - as evidenced by its investment in department store group Intime Retail in a bid to increase its multichannel capabilities. The group has also developed a service enabling its customers to purchase items in third-party retail stores and have them shipped home by Alibaba.

However, for the store to survive, argued Peter Lau, chief executive of Hong Kong-based fashion retailer Giordano, things need to change: “E-malls are not going to replace physical stores. Bricks-and-mortar players just have to change their purpose, to provide ambience and convenience,” he said.

Thailand-based Central Retail’s chairman, Sudhitham Chirathivat, echoed the sentiment. He said malls will continue to play an important part in the lives of Asian families as a “third space” away from work and the typically cramped home environment.

One retailer convinced of the importance of the physical realm in the future of retail is Japan’s Aeon, whose chief strategy officer introduced the group’s new flagship mall. The Aeon Makuhari New City complex brings together sports, leisure and entertainment, healthcare and retail with a mind-boggling array of facilities. A dedicated Pet Mall, for example, includes pet stores, pet cafes and catering facilities (there is rising demand for pet birthday parties) as well as pet healthcare services.

The digital age does, however, present a challenge for some of the region’s family-owned retail conglomerates who will need to transition from their traditional, instinct-based approach to one where knowing the shopper and what they want increasingly means having the capability to gather and interpret data.