Its interior mirrors that of the countless numbers of the large chain store around the country.

But the new 179,422-square-foot Wal-Mart Supercenter in Holly Springs signals a shift in the town’s retail market, now growing at a rapid pace to catch up with residential growth.

“A lot of retailers follow Wal-Mart,” Holly Springs Planning Director Gina Clapp said.

Clapp said the Wal-Mart, south of downtown on the N.C. 55 bypass, will likely lead to a slew of new development nearby.

Part of the new Shoppes at Holly Springs, the store, which is just under the average size of a Supercenter, contains a grocery center as well as a SmartStyle Family Hair Salon, a Regal Nail Salon, a Subway restaurant and a Woodforest Bank branch.

Around 300 associates will work in the store, and a good number of them were on hand Thursday, a day after the store’s grand opening.

Shelves were still being stocked and outside landscaping was being tweaked as some of the store’s first customers browsed the shelves.

Sisters Sandra Hodges and Ramona Wood were up from Fuquay-Varina visiting the new Holly Springs store.

“It’s a good change,” said Hodges, who was looking for a few “odds and ends.”

Fuquay-Varina has its own Wal-Mart, but Hodges felt the Holly Springs Wal-Mart is bigger. She said she’ll probably use both stores for shopping.

It seemed that lots of folks had made the trip from Fuquay-Varina.

“I live just a few blocks from the other [Wal-Mart],” said Fuquay-Varina resident Patsy Coley, who said she wanted to check out the new Holly Springs store anyway.

She was hunting for Christmas cookies and a microwave egg boiler.

People like Coley who want to shop in Holly Springs will soon have more options. Construction was visible on N.C. 55 just across from the Wal-Mart parking lot.

That’s where another shopping center — Main Street Square — is taking shape.

The 40-acre mixed-use project will feature 90 townhouses, 17 single-family homes, 150 apartments or condos and 40,000 square feet of shops with office space above

That’s right, the Holly Springs shopping picture sure is changing.