21 Direct Sales Industry Statistics and Trends

Direct Sales Industry Statistics

The direct sales industry has grown over the last several decades with over 60 million sales consultants contributing to $114 billion in sales. In the United States alone, there are approximately 16 million consultants operating. This industry is broken down into the following statistics.

• 81.8% of direct sales reps are female.
• 18.2% of direct sales reps are male.

Direct Sales Product Base

1. Home Products – 24.4%
2. Health and Wellness Products – 23%
3. Personal Care and Beauty – 19.4%
4. Clothing and Accessories – 11%
5. Educational – 19.2%

Direct Selling Industry Facts

The following video introduces interesting facts about the direct selling industry. An average of 74% of Americans have purchased good and services through a direct selling company. An estimated 81.8% of direct sales reps in the United States are female and the remaining 18.2% are male. The annual turnover rate in direct sales is 56%.

Business Model

Majority of direct sale companies employ the person to person strategy. A rundown of the different business models used in the industry are listed below.

1. Person to Person Selling – 63.5%
2. Party Plan Systems – 27.9%
3. Direct Orders – 7.5%
4. Other Methods – 1.1%

Top Countries for Direct Sales

The following list of countries topped the charges for direct sales revenue.

1. United States – $29.8 billion
2. Japan – $23.8 billion
3. China – $16.3 billion
4. Korea – $12.9 billion
5. Brazil – $12.0 billion
6. Mexico – $6.3 billion
7. France – $5.1 billion
8. Germany – $3.7 billion
9. Russia – $3.6 billion
10. Italy – $3.4 billion

History of Direct Selling

The concept of direct selling started in 1855 with the Southerwestern Company. This was considered the first official door to door sales company. Since then progressive business models and technology have contributed to this flourishing industry.