Rent hikes of up to 30 per cent have forced people with their life savings at stake to sign on the bottom line or risk losing everything.

But Australian Retailers' Association executive director Russell Zimmerman said bigger retailers were not immune, with one chain walking away from 40 sites because the rental increases meant it could not make any money.

Mr Zimmerman declined to name the retailer.

"They looked at the leases, thought they weren't making the dollars, so walked away from the sites," he said.

But the people being held to ransom were those who had put their superannuation into small businesses.

"They have been in them five years and then the rent increases and, because they have invested all their money and they may not have written off the fixtures, they sign the lease," Mr Zimmerman said.

He said the business owners were still "green" and often felt powerless.

"They should not pay more than they can realistically afford ... they will end up working for the landlord and eventually go broke.

"I have been talking to retailers from Queensland to Victoria and across to South Australia and I have been told of increases (of) up to 30 per cent."

Mr Zimmerman said many small operators were locked into rises based on the Consumer Price Index plus 1.5 to 2 per cent for the duration of leases.

They then faced increases of 10 to 30 per cent when they went to renew their leases.

Council of Small Business Organisations of Australia executive officer Peter Strong said empty shops could be seen in any shopping centre or strip.

"I think that things will get worse," he said.

"I think strip rentals are going up because landlords are having to pay higher interest rates.

"There is a tendency for smaller landlords to see big landlords are putting their rents up so they follow."