Market share is the percentage of the total amount of similar products sold in a marketplace that are constituted by a particular product or the products of a particular company. This sometimes used synonymously with the term Market Penetration.
Most industries have many competitors offering essentially the same services and products; in fact that is a sign of a healthy capitalistic marketplace. The market share of a company is the proportion of the total sales in that industry that belong to their company.
A large market share can be a selling point for consumers as well as a leveraging tool when negotiating with suppliers. Often market share is seen as a more important metric than sales revenue or sales growth, because it is an indication of how many consumers are choosing other company’s products over your own.
If other companies have a larger market share, they may be perceived as having more staying power. Market research can help a company to understand how to better tap into their target market.