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Meaning & use

test market

noun, verb·Academic

Last updated

UK/ˈtest ˌmɑːkɪt/
US/ˈtest ˌmɑːrkɪt/

Meanings

  1. nouncountable

    A small area or group of people where a new product or service is tried out before being sold more widely.

    Grammar: Countable: you can say 'a test market' or 'test markets'.

    Patterns

    • a test market for something
    • in a test market

    The company chose a test market in the Midwest to see how customers reacted to the new snack.

    Before the national launch, they ran a test market in three cities.

    The test market results showed that younger buyers liked the product more than older ones.

  2. verbtransitive

    To try a new product or service in a small area or with a small group to see if it will be successful.

    Grammar: Takes an object: test-market a product. Often written with a hyphen.

    Patterns

    • test-market something
    • test-market something in a place

    They decided to test-market the new app in Canada before releasing it worldwide.

    The firm test-marketed the cereal in several supermarkets to get feedback.

    If you test-market the service in a small town, you can adjust it before a bigger launch.

Word forms

pluraltest markets
third person singulartest-markets
past tensetest-marketed
past participletest-marketed
-ing formtest-marketing

Common combinations

test market for
The city was a good test market for the new electric bike.
test-market a product
They plan to test-market the product in Asia first.
test market research
The test market research cost more than expected.
run a test market
The company ran a test market in two states.

Synonyms and how they differ

pilot
A pilot is a small-scale trial, often used for a service or TV show; 'test market' is more specific to selling goods in a particular area.
trial
A trial is a general test; 'test market' focuses on testing in a real market setting with customers.

Word family

test marketing noun
The activity of testing a product in a small market.
market testing noun
The process of testing a product in a market.

Commonly confused: test market or market test?

test market vs market test

A 'market test' is a test of the market itself, while a 'test market' is the place or group where a product is tested.

Practice

The company decided to ______ the new drink in a few small towns before selling it everywhere.

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