David to their Goliath. This story on how independent nursuries are struggling to survive against Home Depot offers a good lesson for all small retailers competing against the big box retailers:

"The people who go to Home Depot don't know that much about gardens," she said. "In some cases, they've never gardened before. Some just bought a house and they don't want to spend a lot of time or money. But they're not hard-core gardeners."

Studies have shown, in fact, that big box stores have boosted sales for independent shops in towns that are large enough to support both outlets.

"What happens is the customers go into these stores where they get started gardening and then they hit a limit in terms of what they can find," she said. "If they really get hooked, then they eventually turn to independent garden stores."

Those who don't "were never going to be our customers anyway," Eagle said.

The smart retailer understands that competition may actually increase the total market size. Think of all of those marketing dollars a behemoth like Home Depot, Barnes & Noble or REI brings to a community. Let the big box retailers work to bring new customers into the market -- and be ready for them when they grow more serious about their hobby or interest, by offering a deeper selection of merchandise, more informed salespeople and more attentive customer service.