Captive markets are

market Market is a term used to describe concepts such as: *Market (economics), system in which parties engage in transactions according to supply and demand *Market economy *Marketplace, a physical marketplace or public market Geography *Märket, an ...

s where the potential

consumer A consumer is a person or a group who intends to order, or uses purchased goods, products, or services primarily for personal, social, family, household and similar needs, who is not directly related to entrepreneurial or business activities. ...

s face a severely limited number of competitive

suppliers In commerce, a supply chain is a network of facilities that procure raw materials, transform them into intermediate goods and then final products to customers through a distribution system. It refers to the network of organizations, people, activ ...

; their only choices are to purchase what is available or to make no purchase at all. The term therefore applies to any market where there is a

monopoly A monopoly (from Greek el, μόνος, mónos, single, alone, label=none and el, πωλεῖν, pōleîn, to sell, label=none), as described by Irving Fisher, is a market with the "absence of competition", creating a situation where a speci ...

or oligopoly. Examples of captive-market environments include the

food markets Food marketing brings together the food producer and the consumer through a chain of marketing activities. Background Pomeranz & Adler, 2015, defines food marketing as a chain of marketing activities that takes place within the food system ...

in cinemas, airports, and

sports arenas An arena is a large enclosed platform, often circular or oval-shaped, designed to showcase theatre, musical performances, or sporting events. It is composed of a large open space surrounded on most or all sides by tiered seating for spectators ...

, college textbooks, US cable companies, the

Kosher food Kosher foods are foods that conform to the Jewish dietary regulations of ''kashrut'' (dietary law). The laws of ''kashrut'' apply to food derived from living creatures and kosher foods are restricted to certain types of mammals, birds and fish m ...

market in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

, printer refills,

truck stop A truck stop, known as a service station in the United Kingdom, and a travel center by major chains in the United States, is a commercial facility which provides refueling, rest ( parking), and often ready-made food and other services to motor ...

s due to fueling contracts and semi truck regulations, and phone calls and food in jails and prisons. Academic publishers, such as

Elsevier Elsevier () is a Dutch academic publishing company specializing in scientific, technical, and medical content. Its products include journals such as '' The Lancet'', ''Cell'', the ScienceDirect collection of electronic journals, '' Trends'', ...

, operate captive markets. Professional team sports have often been described as an example of captive markets, with strict self-policing rules amongst supporters making it virtually impossible for fans to switch allegiances, and unwritten conduct rules dictating that official club merchandise should normally be worn to games by a majority of fans, allowing the teams themselves to raise prices as high as they feel like knowing that their supporters have little choice but to keep buying.

References

Market (economics) {{econ-stub

See also

References