Trading centers are the towns and cities where buying and selling of items take place, which were produced elsewhere. Trading center may be rural and urban. Rural marketing centers cater to nearby settlements, these are semi urban centers of rudimentary type and act as local collecting and distributing centers. Personal and professional services are not well developed here, but they are important to cater to the basic demand of rural people. In rural areas periodic markets are also organized, these markets are held on specified days and move from place to place.
Urban trading centers provide specialized services, along with the ordinary goods and services required by the people. They provide manufactured goods and as well as many specialized markets offer like labour, housing, etc. Specialized service of lawyers, doctors, veterinary services, consultants of different professions are also available. Retail trading also takes place through specialized stores like cooperative stores, departmental stores and chain stores.