The report, which focuses on Queen's Market at Upton Park, east London, found that the market created double the number of jobs per square foot of retail space as a typical supermarket. Queen's Market employs 508 people.
The New Economics Forum (NEF), which carried out the survey, also found that as well as offering a wider variety of fresh fruit and vegetables, goods purchased at the market were on average 53 per cent cheaper than the Asda store nearby.
Queen's Market generates sales of£13 million annually, according to the research. Some£9 million is spent by shoppers on food and another£1.8 million is spent in shops close to the market.
Top reasons for shoppers choosing the market included price, variety of produce and atmosphere.
The research also suggests that markets provide opportunities for entrepreneurs because of low barriers to entry and operating costs.
Senior NEF researcher Guy Rubin said: 'The irony is that planning decisions are being taken around the country that are undermining small enterprises that can prevent us becoming a nation of clone towns. As our research indicates, as well as impoverishing local communities and economies and reducing consumer choice, they may even be resulting in net job losses.'
The survey was commissioned by the Friends of Queen's Market. The market is under threat from a proposed Asda store and was recently featured in the film Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Price.
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