Global Direct Selling Flatlines at $163.9bn in 2024 After Three Years of Contraction

Four years of numbers: from peak to plateau

The global direct selling market recorded total retail sales of $170,023,008,878 in 2021, measured in 2024 dollars, representing annual growth of 2.00%. It was the last year of expansion in the four-year series.

In 2022, worldwide turnover slipped to $168,147,288,387, a change of -1.10%. The decline steepened the following year, with 2023 sales reaching $163,937,310,611, down 2.50% year on year.

2024 brought the sequence to a halt rather than a reversal. Retail sales came in at $163,863,335,253, an annual change of 0.00% — a plateau that leaves the channel roughly $6.2bn below its 2021 level.

A smaller, still overwhelmingly female salesforce

The number of independent representatives followed a similar trajectory. From 113,724,806 in 2021, the global salesforce fell to 108,884,897 in 2022 and then to 104,223,024 in 2023.

In 2024 the figure ticked up slightly to 104,338,049, the first increase in the period under review, albeit a marginal one against the previous year's base.

Gender composition has remained remarkably stable throughout. Women accounted for 71.90% of independent sellers in both 2021 and 2022, against 28.10% men. The female share peaked at 72.70% in 2023 before easing to 72.10% in 2024, with men representing 27.90%.

Regulation, recession worries and shifting buyer expectations

The period coincided with heightened regulatory attention in the United States. In February 2022, the Federal Trade Commission published an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking targeting deceptive earnings claims, an initiative that touches multiple categories of organisations, including MLM companies.

Consumer sentiment has added another layer of pressure. A NielsenIQ report published in July 2022 found that shoppers were increasingly bracing for a coming recession and were more concerned about their financial situation than they had been six months earlier.

Brand values are also weighing on purchasing decisions. Research by IBM found that 77% of consumers surveyed regard sustainability and environmental responsibility as at least moderately important in a brand.

The wider e-commerce context is shifting too. According to a study by PipeCandy, direct-to-consumer (DTC) businesses account for 13% of all US e-commerce companies, underlining how crowded the direct-to-shopper space has become.

Communication as a trust variable

Against that backdrop, executives have pointed to internal communication as a factor in maintaining credibility with the field. Amber Olson-Rourke, Chief Marketing and Sales Officer at Neora, has spoken about the importance of open and honest communication with the field in order to preserve trust and authenticity.

For an industry whose distribution model rests on individual relationships, the emphasis is consistent with the regulatory direction of travel and with consumer caution captured in recent research — factors likely to shape how the channel navigates its current plateau.