The concept of circulation industrial cluster has not appeared in academic literature, but some literatures have mentioned commercial cluster. Ding Xinji and Wu Yunliang believe that commercial cluster is a spatial gathering of commercial enterprises (mainly profit-making economic organizations that directly handle media goods) and related enterprises in services such as finance, catering, storage and transportation, and information consultation, thus forming a commercial business place with high density of commercial outlets and high degree of specialization in a certain area. In Tang Jianmin's view, business cluster refers to a collection of various business economic entities, various functional business activities and closely related business economic relations in a certain region.
The concept of circulation industrial cluster is not only closely related to the concept of commercial cluster, but also different from the concept of commercial cluster. Circulation industry cluster refers to a large number of similar or related industries with circulation industry as the leader in a certain region. Under the guidance of circulation industry cluster information, enterprises form a complete internal division of labor system, which provides strong support and guidance for regional economic growth. The circulation industry cluster includes not only wholesale enterprises, retail enterprises, logistics enterprises and catering enterprises, but also business service enterprises such as production enterprises, financial service enterprises, law firms, accounting firms and tax agents, and consumer service enterprises such as leisure and entertainment. They gather around the circulation industry and provide products and services for the circulation industry. Therefore, the concept of circulation industrial cluster is based on commercial cluster, but its extension is greater than commercial cluster.