Meaning & use
mass market
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Meanings
nounsingular
The group of ordinary consumers who buy products that are made in large amounts and sold at low prices.
Grammar: Often used with 'the': 'the mass market'. It can be modified by adjectives like 'broad' or 'huge'.
Patterns
- the mass market
- appeal to the mass market
- target the mass market
The company decided to aim its new phone at the mass market rather than at business users.
Cheap furniture from that store appeals to the mass market.
If you want to reach the mass market, you need to keep the price low.
adjectivebefore a noun
Designed for or appealing to a very large number of ordinary people, not a special group.
Grammar: Always comes before a noun: 'mass-market goods'. It is not used after a verb (you cannot say 'the goods are mass-market').
Patterns
- mass-market product
- mass-market appeal
- mass-market paperback
The book was first published as a mass-market paperback.
They produce mass-market cars that are affordable for most families.
Her music has a mass-market appeal that crosses many age groups.
Common combinations
- mass-market product
- This is a mass-market product, so it is sold in every supermarket.
- mass-market appeal
- The design has mass-market appeal because it is simple and cheap.
- mass-market paperback
- I bought the mass-market paperback edition at the airport.
- reach the mass market
- The brand finally reached the mass market after lowering its prices.
- the mass market for something
- There is a huge mass market for budget smartphones.
Synonyms and how they differ
- mainstream
- Mainstream describes things that are accepted by most people; it is broader than mass market, which specifically relates to buying and selling.
- popular
- Popular means liked by many people; mass market focuses on products made for a large number of ordinary buyers, not necessarily on being liked.
Opposites
Word family
- mass-market adjective
- The hyphenated form is the usual adjective; the unhyphenated form is more common as a noun.
Commonly confused: mass market or mass media?
mass market vs mass media
Mass media refers to television, newspapers, and other ways of communicating with large numbers of people. Mass market is about selling to large numbers of people.
Practice
The company wants to sell its new soft drink to as many ordinary people as possible. Which sentence is correct?
Choose one answer.
The definite article 'the' is used because 'the mass market' refers to the whole group of ordinary consumers. 'A mass market' would suggest one of several such groups, which is less natural here. 'Niche market' means the opposite—a small, specialized group.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “mass market”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.