You may think that social networking started with the Facebook age, but it actually got its start long before that. In fact, many people consider direct selling to be the original social networking? Why? Because direct sales have always been about person-to-person connections. About creating new relationships and strengthening existing ones to achieve a new level of success.
According to its definition, direct sales is the process of selling goods face to face, rather than in a retail setting. Even in the digital age, humans thrive on that personal touch, so it’s no wonder that the industry has continued to gain momentum over the years.
According to the Direct Selling Association, more than 20.5 million people were involved in direct selling in the U.S. in 2016 (it’s likely those numbers have continued to rise, although those are the most recently published official statistics). This continues a trend in exponential growth in the industry, leading to the simple conclusion that direct selling is far from losing its drive.
Here are a few other key statistics to chew on: The ethnic and racial demographic of the direct selling industry reflects that of the U.S. as a whole, and while there are certainly more women involved than men, that number is slowly evening out. And, most importantly, the industry generated a whopping $35 billion in retail sales throughout 2016—$189.6 billion globally according the World Federation of Direct Selling Association.
Consider the following:
The stats speak for themselves. Direct selling isn’t going anywhere but up. And all of those big numbers were generated as a result of a series of personal connections. Pretty powerful, right?