Obviously, the Wal-Mart is already built before the predatory pricing issue arises – but this is an excellent tool when an existing Wal-Mart seeks to expand, or add a gas station. This strategy affords you the opportunity to ally yourself with local gasoline sellers and merchants, who are usually an important and vocal part of any community. They can be powerful allies in a citizen advocacy campaign. Check your state’s anti-predatory pricing laws (often labeled fair marketing practice laws), and see what you can do to strengthen them.

Put simply, predatory pricing is selling goods below cost to capture market share and run competitors out of business. In the Wal-Mart context, this is most often seen in a tight competitive situation, or when the Wal-Mart development includes a gas station. Wal-Mart usually sells gasoline or other goods below their cost and makes up for the loss from the sale of other merchandise in the big-box store itself.

Once the Wal-Mart has succeeded in driving out its competition at the gas pumps, it is free to charge whatever it wants, since it has a monopoly on the local gasoline market. Similarly, in tight competitive situations, the Wal-Mart will charge below-cost prices on goods until the competition falls, and then raise prices once it has the market cornered.

To prove "predatory pricing" requires extensive research, but where you can prove it, the "predatory" issue will resonate strongly with local small businesses and consumers. Americans value fairness and predatory pricing violates that principle.