I don't know what it feels like to be the owner of a nearby business and walk into the new Wal-Mart Supercenter on U.S. 70 for the first time, but I imagine it must be a little like I felt in the eighth grade when our basketball team played St. Rita's.

We had heard they were good, but when they walked into the Blessed Sacrament school gymnasium, we were downright intimidated.

They were tall, taller than any team we had faced. Nobody said anything, but we were all thinking: "We're gonna get creamed!"

Mom-and-pop stores have long feared the big box stores like Wal-Mart and Target. Now, even supermarkets are worried.

No doubt, there is room for concern. Consider that the Wal-Mart Supercenter off U.S. 70 is more than 216,000 square feet. Most of that is for dry goods rather than groceries, but a typical supermarket would be considered huge at 50,000 square feet.

While most of the Wal-Mart Supercenter may be dry goods, the supermarket part is clearly benefiting from the ability of Wal-Mart, the nation's largest retailer, to keep prices down. When The News & Observer comparison shopped at Wal-Mart, Target and four supermarkets two weeks ago, Wal-Mart won handily and Target came in second.

But, you know, size can be off-putting, too. When I ask where an item is at Kroger, clerks usually tell me the exact aisle.

When I went to the Wal-Mart Supercenter last week and asked a clerk for toothpaste, he directed me to "the other side of the store." I thought: This is gonna be like finding a needle in a haystack.

St. Rita's did beat us, but the score was closer than anybody thought it would be. And maybe this retail face-off will be a tougher fight than people think.