It comes as no surprise to anyone who has set foot in a mall this holiday season that retailers are struggling. The Sunday before Christmas, I went to Target in the early afternoon for some last minute gifts. When I went to checkout, the express line for shoppers with fewer than ten items was empty. I walked up, put down my items, and was out the door in less than two minutes. Great for me, not so great for Target (TGT).

Judging by reports, this will be the worst holiday shopping season in almost 40 years. This means that after the next round of corporate earnings reports that start next week, a wave of bankruptcy filings could follow. On a recent Bloomberg radio interview, Burt Flickinger of Strategic Resource Group said “You’ll see department stores, specialty stores, discount stores, grocery stores, drugstores, major chains either multi- regionally or nationally go out.”

So what does this mean to you? A few things: for one, it means now it is time to buy big, national chains that aren’t in any danger of closing. Companies such as Wal-Mart (WMT), Target, and Best Buy will gain market share as smaller competitors go out of business. This will also mean increased revenue from the growing customer base.

Secondly, if you have gift cards or after-holiday returns to some stores that are already in bankruptcy (Circuit City, Linen’s and Things) or on the verge of closing, hurry up and use the gift cards or return the merchandise.

It also means that if you are willing to roll the dice a bit, you may be able to get incredible deals as retailers blowout their inventories before closing. Electronics could be especially appealing, although getting warranty claims could be near impossible without a storefront to take the product back. Like everything in life, it’s risk versus reward.

Finally, it reinforces that commercial REITs should be avoided. Commercial REITs have been getting hammered lately, and soon face rising vacancies as more and more storefronts are shuttered.

Source: A Big Shakeout In Retail Is Coming In 2009