A market, such as a weekly village market, is a social institution in multiple significant ways.

Sociologists view markets as social institutions that are constructed in culturally specific ways. Markets are not merely economic entities but are deeply embedded in the larger social framework. They are often controlled or organised by particular social groups or classes, and have specific connections to other institutions, social processes and structures.

In rural and tribal areas, where settlements are far-flung, roads and communications are poor, and the economy is relatively undeveloped, the weekly haat serves as a major institution for both exchange of goods and social intercourse. While local people come to sell their agricultural or forest produce to traders and buy essentials such as salt and agricultural implements, the market serves important social functions as well.

For many visitors, the primary reason to come to the market is social – to meet kin, to arrange marriages, exchange gossip, and so on. Thus, exchange in markets has a social and symbolic significance that goes far beyond its immediate economic purpose.

Markets are also connected to other aspects of the social structure, such as caste and class, in various ways. Sociologists express this idea by saying that economies are socially 'embedded'. The character of markets changes over time with the larger social and political context in which they operate.