You've put your finger on it exactly. What I've seen in the small towns which Wal-Mart is supposed to have "destroyed" is that Stein is right - the sudden price cut in all consumer goods has the effect of raising everybody's disposable income. This means that now that people can spend a lower fraction of their income on Pampers and cereal, they have more money left over to buy baseball cards, quilting supplies, specialized auto parts, used video games, personal computer peripherals, gourmet foods, and so on.
The canny retailers have opened boutiques instead of general-merchandise stores. Wal-Mart sells everything, but they don't sell the highest quality of anything, and they don't sell the complete range of anything. A thousand niche markets have suddenly sprung up, and everybody now has the money to afford niche goods.
Well-put. Amazing how the free market works.
---The canny retailers have opened boutiques instead of general-merchandise stores. Wal-Mart sells everything, but they don't sell the highest quality of anything, and they don't sell the complete range of anything. A thousand niche markets have suddenly sprung up, and everybody now has the money to afford niche goods.---
Bingo! And that's a good part of the puzzle of keeping your old downtown alive as well.