United States
- GDP nominal: 17,419 billion USD
- Unemployment rate: 6.2%
- Population: 318 million
- Ease-of-doing-business rank: 7th
The United States is the world's largest national economy in nominal terms. The U.S has a mixed economy and has maintained a stable overall GDP growth rate, a moderate unemployment rate, and high levels of research and capital investment. The U.S. is one of the largest trading nations as well as the world's second largest manufacturer, representing a fifth of the global manufacturing output.
The U.S. has the largest domestic retail market and among the world's 500 largest companies, 128 are headquartered in the U.S.
Direct Selling in United States
- GDP Growth Constant USD 2014: 2.4%
- YoY Industry Growth Constant USD 2014: 5.5%
The United States is the pioneer of innovation and the home country of the modern forms of Direct Selling. The industrial revolution in the latter part of the 19th century saw the development of railroads that allowed the Door-to-door sales model to emerge, which was an answer to the consumer’s limited carrying capacity and mobility.
Similarly, accompanying the automobile revolution in the first part of the 20th century, we saw the emergence of Party-plan and the first forms of Multi-level marketing businesses as an answer to the increased mobility and social interaction possibilities. Innovation and Direct Selling are today still intimately tied together with the implementation of the Digital and Omni-channel strategies.
Among the top 100 Direct Selling companies in the world in 2014, U.S. based corporations account for approximately 65% of the total. We can find 6 American corporations in the global top 10 largest Direct Selling companies, among them 4 companies have operations in nearly 100 countries.
The U.S. market is the #1 market accounting for 34.5 billion USD in 2014 with a market share of 19% followed by China (16.7%), Japan (9.25%), and South Korea (9%).
The Wellness category accounts for 30% of products sold in the U.S. followed by the Cosmetics and Skin Care category (17%).
A specificity to the U.S. is that financial services account for a 10% of the channel revenue, also, Cosmetics and Skin Care is underrepresented (17% in the U.S against 34% in global).
Direct Selling companies in the U.S. are represented by nearly 18.2 million distributors, which is the second highest number of distributors after China.
E-commerce shopping is expected to become increasingly popular among the U.S. population and might hamper the industry’s development.
In spite of the fact that the U.S. Direct Selling industry is a very mature market, it strengths have allowed it to grow at a robust 5% CAGR. The industry has well-established regulations and an entrepreneurial sales force that can rely on innovative products, services, and concepts.
Sources: ASENSHIA, World Bank, WFDSA, Euromonitor, Wikipedia
CAGR: Compound Annual Growth Rate expressed in Constant USD 2014, between 2011 and 2014
