People drove an hour out of their way to Walmart because it was that much better. Not just the prices, but also selection
Sort of. People just shopped differently in those days. If your local stores didn't have what you wanted, you ordered from a catalog.
But the difference is that today, people don't bother checking their local stores first. They just go straight to Amazon and put their neighbors or of business.
Walmart was the pioneer of long term hassle free returns
Not really. High end department stores were doing it for generations. Six months later and no receipt? No problem. My mom used to do this all the time.
Walmart just brought it to the masses.