We've heard a lot about how the retail industry in Singapore is under threat from online shopping and general millennial thriftiness.

Enter Bloomberg Gadfly columnist Andy Mukherjee with the latest take on this issue.

In his Oct. 23 column, he points out that while Singapore's economy grew by 4.6 per cent in the third quarter of 2017, CapitaLand Mall's tenants, for instance, reported negative or mediocre sales growth in the first nine months of 2017.

Looking ahead, Mukherjee mentions the redevelopment of electronics mall Funan as an example of what malls could look like in the future:

"By the time Funan reopens in 2019, there may not be anybody left on the planet who still goes to a store to buy a computer or a phone. So the new address will play host to everything from a homegrown theater company's auditorium to a test zone for drone photography."

So what to do?

New ideas are sorely needed to fill up the empty spaces. In May 2017, the URA reported its ninth consecutive quarter of decline for retail rental.

Vacant retail outlets throughout Singapore reached 5 million square feet — think five empty VivoCities.

But hey, it's not all bad news. According to the Department of Statistics, retail sales excluding motor vehicles in August went up 3.7 per cent over the past year. Department stores, for one, saw a 4.3 per cent year-on-year growth in sales.

So malls, like all of us, just need to be flexible to deal with the changing times. So what can they do with their abundance of space?

We've got five ideas:

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1. Haunted houses

In the town of Reading, UK, there's an abandoned shopping mall that's been taken over by zombies an entertainment company.

Sign up and you get to explore the entire mall armed with nothing but a (fake) gun and a flashlight, dodging the horde of zombies that have camped out in the empty stores.

Here at home, we have Halloween Horror Nights (HHN) at Universal Studios Singapore in Sentosa, and Bugis Junction recently experimented with a VR attraction where shoppers get to play an immersive video game.

But we haven't taken that last step and actually turned an entire building into a house of the dead — think "Walking Dead" in real life, in a contained space (phew).

Given HHN's success, this could potentially fly among Singapore's horror-lovers and thrill-seekers as a year-round attraction.

It's right in the heart of the city too, if a town mall was used.

2. Arts spaces

As Mukherjee mentioned, Funan could house an auditorium for a theatre company when it re-opens. Other malls in Singapore have similar set-ups, such as the Star Performing Arts Centre at Star Vista or the MBS theatres.

Performing groups are stuck between renting out old, cramped buildings, or massive, costly spaces.

Shopping malls would be a good middle option as they're easy for people to get to. Think stages, studios for artistic expression or exhibition, or dance studios.

Cinemas are already a common feature in malls, so perhaps the same could be extended to live acts to support the growing arts scene in Singapore.

3. More room for sports

If we're going to be an active, healthy nation, more sports facilities should always be welcome.

Gyms are already a common sight in our malls, and some of the newer malls have already started incorporating facilities for competitive sports.

Kallang Wave Mall offers indoor rock climbing, while the new One Tampines Hub goes further with courts for futsal, hockey and tennis, a 1,800-seater sports hall that can host sepak takraw tournaments and other competitions, and a big swimming pool.

For quite a number of years now, JCube in Jurong has had an Olympic-sized ice-skating rink for winter sports.

There are many perks to having indoor sports facilities: bringing the noise and ruckus away from housing estates, players don't have to worry about the weather, and as a bonus, hungry people will surely spend a lot more at the eateries co-located at the malls afterwards.

4. Garden in a city

A mall in Cleveland, Ohio in the U.S. recently experimented with using their space as a greenhouse to grow herbs, vegetables and fruit.

Although the project had to be abandoned after some trouble with aphids, perhaps Singapore might be able to get it right.

After all, we boast some of the most advanced hydroponics technology for urban farms in the world.

Some Singapore malls have already incorporated technology to integrate gardens into their structure, like the City Square mall in Farrer Park.

The mall's garden is outfitted with a green roof that harnesses solar energy, collects rainwater and promotes cross-ventilation.

Small gardens supplied with water from rain and aircon condensate, and equipped with artificial light sources could be set up in empty malls to grow fresh produce.

It would be a big help as we run out of farmland on our island.

5. More course centres

While we already have quite enough tuition centres, learning new things is always a good idea. Mukherjee, in his article, also suggested having a space for people to practice drone photography, for instance.

Demand for new skills classes like coding are on the rise, with sign ups increasing "six-fold" according to one such company, The Kid Coders.

The Smart Nation ideal, with its associated tech developments, is receiving full government support. Everyone's encouraged to acquire a "basic set of digital skills", even for the elderly.

To help this effort, more classrooms where people learn coding, filmmaking, digital animation, new languages, or indeed, a host of other skills, would be very useful.

All those empty spaces could be put to better use, and it might entice people to use more of their SkillsFuture credits.

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Top image from Singapore's Child.