Entertainment, rather than fashion, is a safer commercial property investment

According to the Australian Retailers Association, its members are projecting $39.5 billion in sales from mid-November until Christmas — reflecting an overall increase of just 2% on last year.

Many shoppers still remain extremely hesitant, despite the RBA's recent interest rate reduction.

However, with household savings at record levels, people may simply be holding back on their main splurge until the post-Christmas sales.

Either way, the retail sector is delicately poised at the moment.

Most fashion and other specialty shops are finding things really tough, although restaurants, wine bars and other "entertainment" outlets have been reporting steady business.

Sure, online shopping has grabbed the headlines over the past 12 months.

However, it seems there is also a growing number of people using larger regional shopping malls to carry out their initial research. And then they return to their neighbourhood strip centres — where they can browse in relative peace and receive far more personal attention.

If they are going to part with their hard-earned savings, shoppers appear to want (and now expect) some old-fashioned service.

In other words, shopping now needs to offer an enjoyable experience — and not merely be an endless selection of basically the same products, simply in different stores.

For many, discounting alone will no longer motivate them to buy. Most shoppers are now seeking out friendly interaction, together with genuine personal service.

Originally, discounting destroyed store loyalty, as people focused on obtaining that product as cheaply as possible, from whoever was offering them the best price.

But slowly, the wheel is turning mainly because people are feeling rather "discounted out".

Don't misunderstand – everyone still loves a bargain. But this now seems to be mainly related to generic fashion items.

For anything a little more intimate, and portraying your personality, you will find shoppers gravitating towards stores providing them with one-on-one guidance in making their final choice.

Bottom Line: While this emerging trend is certainly interesting, as a commercial property investor, you will find it almost impossible to pick between the good and bad specialty traders when choosing who will be the stronger tenant over the next three to five years.

As such, you should stick with the "entertainment" group for your tenants if you do wish to invest in retail property at the moment.

Alternatively, seek out shops with quasi-retailers, like banks, travel agents, solicitors, accountants or real estate agents — all of whom are far less dependent upon passing traffic.

Chris Lang is an advisor to commercial property investors and gives keynote speeches and regular seminars on the best way to invest in commercial property. He maintains a blog, his-best.biz, which he updates regularly about the best way to get the most out of your commercial property investment.