that they continue to battle for the lowest price until both of them go broke?
I especially hope to see Walmart suffer a long agonizing death. I live in suburban Detroit, and the amount of vacant retail space that was generated by the growth of Walmart and Meijer is staggering... and I know its much worse in rural towns.
I used to be able to choose from several stores, each with a unique selection of reasonably priced goods, and usually exceptional customer service.
Now I walk a quarter mile to get in the front door, to be greeted by some old lady who probably owned one of the shops that closed and shes still bitter about it, and walk another half mile to get the few things I need, and finally I stand in a long line to pay another bitter minimum wage worker so I can walk back out to my car. In all I probably saved 2-3% over what the old stores would have charged me.
Meanwhile, Walmart has forced its suppliers to cut prices so much that even companies that used to be proud to produce their product with US labor have outsourced it to try and retain some of their profit margin... because without Walmart they don't exist to most consumers anymore.
I am just thankful that there are a couple of smaller grocers, and a few decent malls nearby with stores that are very responsive to their customers. To be in a rural community where its Walmart or nothing would be a form of torture.