Perfect competition is to many sellers and identical products as monopolistic competition is to what?

Perfect competition involves many sellers offering identical products, which means that no single seller can influence the market price. In contrast, monopolistic competition features many sellers as well, but they offer products that are slightly different from one another. This differentiation allows each seller to have some control over their prices because consumers might prefer one product over another. For example, think of a market with many coffee shops; while they all sell coffee, each shop may have unique flavors, atmospheres, or customer service styles that attract different customers. Thus, while both market structures have many sellers, monopolistic competition is characterized by product variation rather than identical offerings.