Goods and services
Direct sales do a little more business
It rings the doorbell, a seller offers goods. Some consumers are annoyed, others are curious. Or there is a show at home on appointment. The sales channel of direct sales has been growing for years.
Whether kitchen appliances, perfumes, jewelry or dog food: By selling such products in so -called direct sales, companies in Germany have received a little more money in the coffers. From 2022 to 2024, sales rose by 2.8 percent to 20.9 billion euros, the Federal Association of Direct sales Germany (BDD) said in Berlin.
With this, growth slowed down significantly, in 2022 the direct sales had booked an increase of 6.6 percent – within a single year and not within two years. However, this was also due to catch-up effects in the previous Corona sofa. But the growth was also stronger before that, in 2019 the plus was five percent compared to 2018.
The market analysis that has now been presented refers to a two-year period, before that the association had raised surveys the annual rhythm. The number of sellers who work in direct sales and usually independent on a commission basis was 908,000 in Germany in 2024 – this value had not changed since 2022.
Association sees development positive
The direct sales association BDD evaluated the development positively. The numbers showed that direct sales are “remarkable resilient” despite inflation, geopolitical uncertainties and other negative aspects. “While many industries are struggling with consumer retention, direct sales show that trust, personal address and high -quality products are still very popular,” says BDD CEO Elke Kopp, who is also the managing director of the cosmetics company Mary Kay – this company is also based on direct sales.
Direct sales mean that companies sell goods and services directly to customers and do not take the detour through retail. The sellers ring at the front door or they come to the consumer’s apartment, at their workplace or to other places outside of classic shops to advise and do demonstrations.
There are also online shows and online sales meetings. One example is the Vorwerk kitchen machine Thermomix, which is presented in an apartment of a potential customer and her acquaintances. Telecommunications such as vodafone and energy companies such as Eon also use direct sales.
dpa
Source: Stern
