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When I said "strip mall", I was talking about one of those rows of little shops you find in neighborhoods. I think some people call them "boutique" stores. And I don't mind paying a little more if it keeps me from having to set foot in a Walmart and have to slough through those people while I shop. Every time I have ever been in a Walmart, I got the compulsive need to scrape off the bottom of my shoe when I came out.
That's why I shop online. =)
As to the rest, I understand what you are saying. However, I think those events where larger stores put out smaller competitors happened a little more gradually. Further, those smaller competitors likely ended up becoming suppliers for the larger mom and pop and neighborhood grocers and such. When Walmart moves into a small town, whole blocks of private businesses go under.
I think it depends on the area though. Up where I'm from, there's a big strip of boutiques right in the village, along with some large supermarkets/drug stores/etc. a mile or so outside the town. About 15 miles away is the big shopping area, where there's two malls and a huge long road with a bunch of different "strip mall" strip malls all along it. In one of those strip malls, Walmart opened a store. It hasn't affected any of the other stores in the area as far as I can tell, as it's just one of a few dozen big box stores in the area.