An Even Deeper Dive—More insights from this issue’s cover story.
Our current cover story A World in Motion takes an in-depth look at the current state of direct selling across the globe. We utilized the latest World Federation of Direct Selling’s Global Statistical Data Report as well as insights provided from Direct Selling Associations around the world.
We are incredibly grateful for the candor and thoughtfulness of the responses we received. While we couldn’t include the totality of their insights in the article, we wanted to make sure we provided access to this valuable information to our readers. So, we’ve shared their full comments as an online exclusive.
Thank you again to the WFDSA for their comprehensive report and to the many DSA executives who helped us paint a complete picture.
ASIA
China’s direct selling market is drawing increasing attention at home and abroad. The industry is experiencing major changes that bring both opportunities and challenges.
.The Chinese government has set strategic guidelines for high-quality, international development and aims to improve the quality of life. These policies encourage direct selling companies to move beyond traditional business models. Companies are increasing investment in product R&D and adopting innovative technology such as AI. They are embracing the concept of “Expanded Direct Selling.” This change centers on consumers and urges a reconstruction of the core values of “good products, good models and good culture.” Consequently, the industry is developing higher-quality international markets and driving innovation toward a Healthy China and improved living standards.
China’s direct selling industry has seen ongoing policy and regulatory improvements, moving from disorder to standardized governance. These changes have increased public understanding of legitimate direct selling and strengthened enforcement against illegal activities. As a result, confidence in the industry has grown among businesses, consumers and society, unlocking significant market potential and raising standards for direct-sold products and services.
The industry is shifting from traditional offline sales to an “Expanded Direct Selling” model that combines offline and online approaches, as well as personnel and digital tools. This change supports innovation across the industrial, value and responsibility chains. Many companies have already demonstrated positive results. Continued innovation in concepts, products, models and systems is essential, presenting both opportunities and challenges for businesses and investors in China.
—Sun Xuanzhong, Professor and Ph.D. at China University of Political Science and Law
NORTH AMERICA
Canada’s future is its people.
Our direct selling companies produce high-quality products that are on the cutting edge of innovation. But competition is fierce across the spectrum of retail opportunities, so sometimes even great products aren’t enough.
What has always differentiated direct selling from other channels is the personal connection. Whether in-person or via a digital relationship, personal recommendation and trust are what sets us apart from the rest. This is the case for product sales and for recruitment.
I believe that the path to short- and long-term growth in our market is through leaning into this differentiator. Particularly with the poor use of AI sucking the life of so many allegedly real interactions, direct sellers in Canada must and are focusing on people.
In June of last year, Mark Cuban posted the following on X: “Within the next 3 years, there will be so much AI, in particular AI video, people won’t know if what they see or hear is real. Which will lead to an explosion of f2f engagements, events and jobs.”
Mr. Cuban might be onto something, and I think that direct selling can and must lead the way.
— Peter Maddox, DSA Canada
LATAM
Mexico
Regarding the future of Direct Selling in Mexico, we believe that sales will continue to grow, although at moderate rates, likely in the single digits and close to 5%. This performance would be consistent with what has been observed over the past two years.
Likewise, direct selling will continue to face strong competition from wholesale stores, supermarkets and ecommerce. Nevertheless, we expect the industry to continue developing, driven by the strategies implemented by companies in the sector, such as offers, promotions, loyalty programs and new product launches. These initiatives are primarily aimed at meeting consumers’ beauty and nutritional needs, helping them look and feel better and healthier, as well as offering products for those interested in trying new innovations.
Similarly, direct selling companies will continue to strengthen their sales through increased use of social media and digital platforms, allowing their sales force to reach a broader audience. In this context, many distributors will consolidate their role as micro-influencers or brand and product promoters.
Digital technology, as a working tool, will become increasingly relevant in improving communication, training and customer service. Likewise, the use of artificial intelligence will have a broader application in companies’ operations and processes, increasing efficiency and translating into improved results.
In conclusion, direct selling in Mexico will continue to grow at a moderate pace, supported by digital transformation and by the backing that companies in the sector are providing to their independent distributors in adopting new technologies.”
—Adelfo Enríquez, Presidente de la Asociación Mexicana de Ventas Directas (AMVD)
Colombia
The direct selling and network marketing sector in Colombia has demonstrated remarkable adaptability in recent years. By the end of the third quarter of 2025, the market had consolidated cumulative net sales with an average growth of more than 5%, setting a clear roadmap for growth expectations towards 2026. This trend suggests that by 2026 the sector could enter a mature stabilization phase, where growth will remain positive but moderate.
A notable phenomenon is the divergence in the performance of market players. While leading organizations maintain stable market shares ranging from 11% to 18% of the total market, emerging competitors have appeared with extraordinary expansion rates, in some cases exceeding 120% and even 300% annual growth in their net sales.
The foundation of the business model, the independent sales force, reached 1,732,552 active individuals by the end of September 2025. Despite economic fluctuations, the total number of salespeople has remained above 1.7 million throughout 2025, demonstrating that independent selling continues to be an attractive and resilient income option for Colombians.
The direct selling sector in Colombia continues to consolidate itself as one of the fundamental pillars of the collaborative economy and the livelihood of thousands of families. By the end of the third quarter of 2025, the industry reported cumulative net sales growth, reflecting the robustness of a model that constantly adapts to changes in national consumption.
—Elizabeth Acuna, Colombia DSA
Argentina
The year 2026 is projected to be a period of adjustment for the Argentine economy, with international estimates anticipating GDP growth between 3% and 4%, depending on the source, within a context of gradual stabilization and moderate recovery in consumption. For the direct elling industry, this scenario presents a clear opportunity: to consolidate professionalization, deepen digitalization and sustain the value of human connection as a competitive differentiator.
Inflation projections show a downward trend: after 2024, which was marked by sharp price corrections (the 2024 inflation rate was 117.8%), 2025 closed with cumulative inflation of 31.5%, and 2026 is expected to begin with monthly figures around 2%, trending downward toward midyear. It is estimated that the year will close with inflation below 20%.
At the same time, the exchange rate is also showing a more stable path: from the strong volatility of 2024, to a dollar exchange rate of around ARS 1,470 by December 2025, and into 2026, when a more predictable dynamic is expected under a more flexible exchange rate framework.
Within this context, direct selling will continue to be an attractive channel for entrepreneurs seeking flexible income in a market that is slowly recovering. Demand for transparency, ethics and quality will continue to strengthen companies that integrate these values into their value proposition.
At CAVEDI, our commitment is to support companies in this transitional environment, promoting high ethical standards and ensuring that direct selling continues to be a driver of economic inclusion and social mobility throughout the country.
—Gonzalo Falcón, Executive Director, Argentine Chamber of Direct Selling – CAVEDI
EUROPE
From a UK and Ireland perspective, the defining trend in the short term is the renewed value placed on human connection in commerce. As consumers navigate economic uncertainty and digital fatigue, we are seeing growing appreciation for trusted, person-to-person retail models that offer authenticity, flexibility and community. Direct Selling is particularly well placed here—combining digital tools with real human relationships, rather than replacing them.
Innovation in the near term will focus on enabling our sellers with better digital platforms, data-driven insights and social commerce tools, while keeping the relationship at the heart of the experience. This is where our sector will really shine. Nothing cuts through the noise of today better than a trusted friends or family recommending something with authenticity and honesty in a world we are finding harder to trust what we read daily!
Looking to the longer term, I believe the UK sector will continue to strengthen by leaning into its greatest differentiator: people. As retail becomes ever more automated, the human touch will become not a weakness but a competitive advantage. Direct selling offers meaningful earning opportunities, inclusive entrepreneurship and a sense of belonging that many modern retail models struggle to provide. Growth will come from hybrid approaches—blending technology, sustainability and personal service—and from positioning direct selling as a modern, values-led channel that supports individuals and communities alike.
Ultimately, the future of our sector lies in proving that innovation and human connection are not opposites, but partners—and that is where the UK industry has a powerful story to tell, and I plan to shout of from the rooftops to all who will listen!
—Susannah Schofield OBE, Director General, DSA for UK and Ireland
AFRICA
After more than twenty years of hands-on, field-based experience in direct selling and MLM, one conclusion is hard to dispute: Africa is still in the early innings of direct selling and viewing it through Western frameworks is a strategic blind spot.
What I know first is that Africa plays by different rules. Cultures, behaviors and approaches to business follow logics that diverge sharply from Western norms. While Western markets now talk about “putting the human back into the process,” human connection has always been central in Africa. People have gathered, hosted, recommended and built trust through community long before “party plans” became a business concept. Another field-tested certainty: Africa does not develop efficiently from a distance. Remote, desk-designed strategies tend to look good on paper and fail on the ground. Today, two relatively stable and structured entry points stand out for serious players: Morocco and South Africa.
What I see next is scale. By 2050, Africa is expected to host around 1.4 billion urban residents, including roughly 800 million people of working age, concentrated in megacities such as Lagos, Nairobi and Cairo. At the same time, the gradual but real rise of African middle classes mechanically strengthens the relevance of relationship-based selling models.
What is urgently needed is the deployment of strong Direct Selling Associations across the continent. DSAs must go beyond representation to regulate, professionalize and legitimize the industry, actively contributing to market construction.
“My prediction is straightforward: within 20 to 30 years, Africa will become one of the world’s primary engines of human and entrepreneurial growth. The formal economy alone will not absorb this expansion. Direct selling and MLM will therefore emerge as structural pillars of the global distributed economy, increasingly driven by African companies rooted in local resources, traditional know-how and continental needs.”
— Armand Friess, Senior Consultant DS&MLM, Africa Expert
OCEANIA
In Australia and New Zealand, we are seeing real growth in our member companies who are focusing on the right mix of the traditional direct selling model (face-to-face demonstrations/communication) blended with social media interaction and promotion.
MONAT is a great example of this, and they continue to gain in market share in the haircare and skincare space, particularly utilizing Tik Tok and Instagram.
“We are leaning boldly into innovation—reimagining how people connect, shop and build businesses in a way that is modern, relevant and built to last. We are future-proofing our model by embracing technology, data and new ways of engaging the next generation, while staying deeply anchored in the power of person-to-person connection.” —Jen Usher, MONAT, VP of APAC.
Thermomix (Vorwerk) is another company experiencing strong growth…with the parent company recently reacquiring their ANZ franchise and re-investing heavily in this market. They have changed their corporate strategy in Australia to refocus solely on supporting and incentivizing their field leaders and teams, and the results are impressive with good growth in the last 12 months.
“We are 100% focused on supporting the direct selling model which has served us so well for so long, and we always think consultant first before any decision is made on broadening our product distribution or customer offering. In 2025, we achieved the best sales year in a decade!” —Philipp Grundler, Thermomix (Vorwerk), GM of Australia
—Geoff Mulham, DSA Australia
This was more in-depth market analysis from global experts from the cover story “A World in Motion” in the March/April 2026 issue of Direct Selling News magazine.
