A market is one of the social institutions, whereby parties engage in exchange of goods and services. Markets rely on sellers offering their goods or services in exchange for money from buyers. It can be said that a market is the process by which the prices of goods and services are established.

In the field of Sociology, the concept of a market is a structure that allows buyers and sellers to exchange any type of goods, services, and information. The exchange of goods or services for money is a Transaction.

The features of Market are as follow;

1. Market is a place where things are bought and sold: In common usage, the word ‘market’ may refer to particular markets that we may know of, such as the market next to the railway station, the fruit market, or the wholesale market.

2. Market is not just a physical place, but the gathering of peoplebuyers and sellers: Thus, for example, a weekly market may be found in different places on different days of the week in neighbouring villages or ur6an neighbourhoods.

3. Market is a type of trade or business: Market refers to an area or category of trade or business, such as the market for cars or the market for readymade clothes.

4. Market includes the entire spectrum of economic activities and institutions: In this very broad sense, then, ‘the market’ is almost equivalent to ‘the economy’. We are used to thinking of the market as an economic institution, but this chapter will show you that the market is also a social institution. In its own way, the market is comparable to more obviously social institutions like caste, religion or family.