I lived into two small towns, where the only place to shop is (still) Wal*Mart. However I recently moved to another small town, with a thriving downtown. It still sad when i think about all the business that closed because of Wal*Mart. These were small local businesses that were family owned, and been a staple of the community for decades. When Wal*Mart setup shop there it wiped the local business off the map. The supreme irony is that the small family who owned one particular hardware store now works for Wal*Mart. I won't even discuss how Wal*Mart forces other retailers into it's unique model of efficience to compete. No other retailer can hope to match Wal*Mart in Inventory Management, and Assest building. So in many ways small towns become monopolies for Wal*Mart. Saying all that, I still (sometimes) shop at Wal*Mart.
