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Reliance interest is a concept in contract law that focuses on compensating a party for losses incurred due to reliance on the contract that was not fulfilled. The aim of reliance interest is to restore the party to the position they would have been in had they never entered into the contract in the first place. This includes any expenses or losses that the party incurred while relying on the existence of the contract and preparing to fulfill their obligations.

When a party makes decisions or incurs costs based on the expectation that the contract will be honored, the reliance interest seeks to reimburse them for those incurred costs to mitigate their financial detriment from the breach. This fosters fairness by recognizing the reliance the aggrieved party may have placed on the contract's performance.

In contrast, other interests like expectation interest focus on the profits the non-breaching party would have made had the contract been fulfilled, while the goal of encouraging performance is more aligned with the overall purpose of contract law rather than a specific type of remedy. Market balance restoration typically relates to other legal remedies and does not directly address the individual losses a party suffers due to reliance.