In the article "Wal-Mart's War on Main Street," by Sarah Anderson, it is correctly stated that "rural life is changing and there's no use denying it." (Anderson 139) Even without imposing businesses, the technological advances of today make the world smaller and smaller. It used to be that in rural places there would be one farm and then nothing for miles. There wasn't much contact with people outside of one's family. Today anyone on a farm can have all the necessities and luxuries of life, and with the use of the Internet can easily contact anyone anywhere in the world. These simple facts alone provide evidence that rural life is changing. .
The major argument made by Albert Norman and other anti-Wal-Mart activists is that Wal-Mart and other discount stores drive the "Ma & Pa" stores out of business. This statement has some validity in that discount stores charge less and have a significantly larger quantity available, thus making them the top choice. They can charge less because they buy their products in bulk (3,400 stores is definitely bulk). Also, unlike some neighborhood stores, they have an efficient system to keep track of their inventory. This enables them to know what consumers are buying and what they are not buying. Rarely are shelves empty of desirable items. The store can tell when a product is running low and order more before they run out. "Ma & Pa" stores usually do not know what products are popular and overstock on unpopular items and under stock on the popular ones, possibly leaving the shelves bare for any length of time. Oftentimes they wait until they are completely out of an item before reordering. The delivery process takes up to two weeks. Meanwhile, what are customers to do if they are in dire need of a product? They have no choice but to suffer the consequences of being without it.
Privately owned businesses must adapt to the changing times. They will not automatically go out of business just because Wal-Mart is moving in.
