Direct Selling

Direct selling has evolved in the recent review period, with sellers turning to social media and online marketplaces. This switch to e-commerce was stimulated by the era of COVID-19, when consumers and players alike were forced to embrace online…

Direct selling in Argentina is held to have performed positively in 2023, despite a complex and difficult economic and business context. Many direct selling companies registered strong performances in retail value sales in 2023, although there were…

Compared to the double-digit growth experienced the previous year, direct selling in Australia recorded a more subdued performance in 2023, facing greater competition from e-commerce, with local consumers continuing to be attracted to the many…

Just like retail as a whole, direct selling saw significant growth in value sales in 2023, but it was entirely price-driven as inflation remained at unusually high levels for a second consecutive year. Given the focus of direct selling in Austria on…

Direct selling saw sales boosted during the pandemic, and the impact has persisted post-pandemic, with growth accelerating again in 2022 after a slowdown in 2021 The channel remains far from saturation or maturity. The key factors driving the…

Direct selling in Belgium registered a decline in sales in current value terms in 2023. This was mainly due to inflationary pressures, which led consumers to become more conservative with their spending. With a growing focus on value-for-money…

The outbreak of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic hit direct selling companies hard as they were almost entirely dependent on their sales agents or distributors to generate sales. Restrictions on movement and socialisation stopped this model in its…

Direct selling registered a fall in constant value sales in 2022, as double-digit inflation caused by the energy crisis stemming the war in Ukraine dampened volume sales. In fact, direct selling was the worst performing retail channel in 2022, as…

Direct selling maintained current value growth in Brazil in 2023, continuing the trend seen throughout the review period. The ongoing growth of direct selling has been supported by a number of factors in Brazil, particularly following the emergence…

Direct selling registered a fall in current value sales in Bulgaria in 2023. Both high inflation and a shift away from direct selling to e-commerce led to a drop in sales, as e-commerce also provides the convenience of direct delivery. In fact,…

Multi-level level marketing remained the most popular form of direct selling in Cameroon in 2022 as the retailing category recorded a positive performance for the second year in a row. However, this was not enough for category sales to recover to…

Direct selling continued to face the challenge of digitalisation in Canada in 2023. Towards the end of the review period, many direct selling companies leveraged online platforms and tools to showcase their products and services to customers, who…

Direct selling in Chile remained an important channel in 2023 for local consumers looking to access affordable products, specially for those interested in beauty and personal care. The latter continued to drive value sales in 2023, holding 72% share…

Several years of current value decline were seen in direct selling in China during the pandemic, as the direct selling business model relies heavily on hosting meetings or gatherings to introduce products and recruit new sales personnel, which was…

In 2023, direct selling in Colombia has benefited from its ease and speed of purchase, product variety and payment options. Growth is also attributable to expansion into more remote areas of the country. In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, direct…

Following low value sales in 2021, direct selling saw a positive boost in 2022, despite rising price points and inflation. The most positive aspect has been the strong recovery of beauty and personal care sales, the largest part of the category.…

Direct selling exceeded pre-pandemic sales in 2022 as the channel sought to recover from the severe impact of restrictions on selling door-to-door. However, much of the current value growth in 2022 was driven by higher retail prices as inflation took…

Direct selling continued to see declining sales in Denmark in 2023. This was partly due to consumers trying to spend less money as they felt the impact of rising interest rates and higher energy prices, but also due to the competition from other…

Beauty and personal care remain the main category in direct selling with brands like Belcorp and Natura posting positive growth in 2022. The use of personalized recommendations and innovative products at affordable prices is supporting development.…

The channel did not see any important changes in the last couple of years of the review period, with no new brands entering the market or announcing their intention to do so. This meant that the existing players continued to gain ground, using new…

Direct selling in Egypt has been transformed into a social commerce platform through evolving market dynamics, a significant reliance on social media platforms for news and trends and changing shopping behaviours. This shift is informed by the…

Growth in direct selling current value sales in 2022 was up significantly on 2021. While this was partly because spiralling inflation caused unit prices to rise, the improvement was primarily explained by reduced concern about community transmission…

Direct selling has always been a marginal retail channel in Finland, and has in recent years seen a clear decrease – sales fell in 2023 for the seventh year in a row in current value terms. Even more worryingly, direct selling underperformed…

Direct selling was unexpectedly successful in France around the time of pandemic. Initially facing a downturn in early 2020, it rebounded in 2021. Though the overall category has slumped again in 2023, continuing 2022’s downward trend, this fall was…

Although value sales through direct selling are low in Georgia, they showed a slight increase in 2022. There is a shift away from this channel due to growing competition from online players, which provide a greater assortment of products and the…

In 2023, direct selling in Germany continued on its growth trajectory, albeit at a steadier pace compared to the spike during the pandemic. The channel's success is largely attributed to its effective digital transformation and the adoption of a…

Direct selling saw sales fall significantly in Greece in 2023. Since direct selling requires not only sales and interpersonal skills, but also strategic thinking, Oriflame decided to start blogging about how people can use direct sales techniques to…

In Guatemala, the direct selling channel continues to rely heavily on in-person interactions as e-commerce penetration remains relatively low. The COVID-19 pandemic had a significant negative impact on direct selling in 2020 due to government…

Direct selling returned to growth in current value terms in Hong Kong in 2023. However, during the pandemic the channel saw little disruption compared with many others in retail, holding up relatively well, with only minor declines. Social media…

Direct selling saw a slump in Hungary in 2023, caused by a confluence of factors. Direct selling is mostly driven by beauty and personal care direct selling in Hungary, which had previously seen a rebound after the notable declines during the time of…

Direct selling saw solid current value growth in India in 2023, although the rate of increase slowed compared with the previous year, returning to growth similar rates to those seen pre-pandemic. Nevertheless, this was impressive, considering the…

Direct selling saw a marked fall in sales in current value terms in Indonesia in 2023. The channel generally struggled during the review period, having been heavily impacted by the COVID-19 crisis. Direct selling was not viable at the height of the…

Direct selling remained in a relatively steep slump in Ireland in 2023, due to strong competition from a variety of other shopping channels which offer wider ranges of goods at lower prices – both online and offline. Added to which, inflationary…

Direct selling in Israel in 2023 was reported to have somewhat benefitted from consumers spending more time at home due to the geopolitical situation in the country. As such, products which can be delivered to consumers’ homes are attracting…

After two years of solid growth, direct selling experienced a decline in current value terms in 2023. However, performances varied within direct selling in 2023 with some categories continuing to perform well in 2023, but especially those with a…

Direct selling continues to face headwinds due to the ageing of the customer base, and the loss of recruitment opportunities due to changes in social behaviour since the pandemic. On the other hand, some players saw rising sales in 2023, as society…

Direct selling registered constant value growth in 2022, in spite of high inflation, which was mainly caused by the war in Ukraine. With concerns surrounding COVID-19 putting a spotlight on the concept of preventive health, many Kazakhstanis have…

Direct selling retail current value sales exhibited a steep decline during 2020 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Restrictions on movement, most notably a dusk-to-dawn curfew in the major cities, made it difficult for salespeople to move around,…

Health and beauty direct selling continued to dominate retail value sales in 2022, especially through beauty and personal care products. Traditionally, direct selling in Latvia is a well-known channel for beauty products. Moreover, health and beauty…

Before the pandemic, direct selling vendors were making efforts to improve their digital presence by providing both social media communication and e-commerce services in order to meet the demands of their customers and remain relevant. This shift to…

Direct selling in Malaysia showed resilience during the pandemic, particularly in the case of companies specialising in health and wellness products. Seeking ways to stay healthy, local consumers increasingly turned to health supplements and…

In 2023, direct selling achieved positive current value growth for a third consecutive year in Mexico; far exceeding the pre-pandemic level of sales. Despite this strong sales performance, the number of direct selling agents contracted again in 2023,…

Direct selling in Morocco experiences a resurgence as society resumes normal activities, albeit amidst economic challenges posed by the rising cost of living. Despite initial setbacks during the pandemic, cosmetics and skin care show signs of…

2023 was the first year since 2019 in which direct selling in New Zealand was not subject to social, trading or movement restrictions. These limitations had adversely impacted the trading ability of direct selling companies earlier in the review…

Direct selling in Nigeria faced challenges in 2023 as the country grappled with high inflation, resulting in decreased purchasing power among consumers. The direct selling model, predominantly conducted through social commerce and word of mouth, saw…

In 2022, though there was healthy growth in current value sales, constant value sales remained unchanged. The war in Ukraine had a negative impact, with the resultant energy crisis leading to soaring inflation and dampening sales somewhat. That being…

The pandemic has revived the fortunes and renewed the popularity of the direct selling channel amongst Norwegian consumers, as it led companies to establish new ways of marketing and selling their products, namely by using digital tools, such as…

Despite growing consumer awareness and the presence of questionable brands and products in the direct selling channel, the channel continues to remain relevant, particularly in rural areas where malls and shopping centres are fewer in number. In…

With consumers looking for greater convenience and ways to save money, direct selling in Peru has gained popularity in 2023. Affordable prices, regular promotional cycles and payment options at no extra cost are the main advantages of direct selling,…

In 2023, direct selling registered marginal growth in retail value sales. After a decline in 2022, direct selling returned to positive if marginal growth. The cost-of-living crisis proved beneficial for the industry as more people sought to be hired…