A report titled, ‘Direct 2015 – Direct selling: Mapping the industry across Indian states’ by FICCI-KPMG says that direct selling, the oldest and traditional forms of selling, is today a successful industry operating in over 100 countries, with a market size of $180 billion.
In India, the market is estimated at Rs 75 billion (2013-14), and accounts for 0.4 per cent of the total retail sales in the country. The direct selling industry in the country has the potential to reach Rs 645 billion by 2025.
As per the report, North India is the largest region by market size accounting for direct sales worth Rs 22 billion in 2013-14; South India holds the second highest share of the direct selling market is worth Rs 19 billion in 2013-14. While the north east is the smallest market, it has recorded the highest growth rate of 14 per cent in India with revenues of Rs 9 billion.
The growth in direct selling has primarily been driven by rising income levels, high rate of urbanisation and growing consumerism in the states. The report claims that despite witnessing growth, direct selling industry faces multiple changes, one of the biggest being the lack of regulatory clarity.