Distributor Income Since COVID: What the Numbers Show

In 2020, a lot of people stuck at home started selling something on the side. Direct selling had a good run, and for a while it looked like the channel had found a second wind. It didn't last. Sales and seller counts have mostly fallen since, and the income data has never looked good.

The short COVID bump

Direct Selling News wrote in September 2025 that COVID gave product sales and distributor activity a temporary surge. That lift was short-lived. As restrictions eased and subsidies ended in 2021, momentum faded into a slump many companies are still working through.

The global numbers have the same shape. In the WFDSA's 2024 data release, global direct selling retail sales peaked at $173.4 billion in 2021. They fell 1% to $171.6 billion in 2022, then dropped 2.3% to $167.7 billion in 2023.

The WFDSA's December 2025 report later revised those years down, so its numbers don't match the older ones exactly.

The US kept shrinking

The US has had a rougher run than the rest of the world. The DSEF 2025 Growth & Outlook Study put US direct selling retail sales at $34.7 billion in 2024. The WFDSA's December 2025 report counts that as a 5.2% drop from 2023. The DSEF 2026 study put 2025 at $34.2 billion. So the slide slowed, but it didn't stop.

There are fewer sellers, too. The DSA and DSEF counted 5.4 million US direct sellers in 2024, down 12% from 2023. The 2025 number is out now: 5.2 million, down another 4%.

Globally, the WFDSA's December 2025 report says independent representatives fell 4.3% in 2022 to 108.9 million, and another 4.3% in 2023 to 104.2 million. That's close to 5 million fewer people each year. In 2024 the count held at 104.3 million, up 0.1%.

What distributors actually earn

Sales totals are one thing. What a typical seller takes home is another, and that picture has been rough for a long time.

In a September 2024 staff report, FTC staff reviewed 70 publicly available MLM income disclosure statements. Their analysis found the vast majority of participants got $1,000 or less a year, or less than $84 a month on average. Most of those figures don't take out any expenses.

TINA.org's February 2024 investigation found something similar. Among companies that published enough data, more than 80% of distributors made $1,000 or less for the year before business expenses. At half of the companies, more than 60% of distributors made no money at all, on average.

A 2018 study sponsored by the AARP Foundation surveyed 601 current and former MLM participants. Of those, 47% said they lost money and 27% broke even. That's about 74% who lost money or made nothing. Only three people, half of one percent, reported profits of $100,000 or more.

These numbers cover MLMs in general. Party plan is just one part of that. Still, they're the numbers prospects, regulators, and reporters will reach for when they size up any company that recruits independent sellers.

The big companies feel it

The slowdown shows up at the top of the industry too. Herbalife's net sales hit $5.8 billion in 2021, the largest in its history. By 2024, they were down to $4.99 billion, per its 10-K.

Nu Skin's 10-Q for the first quarter of 2025 showed Paid Affiliates down 15% and Sales Leaders down 20% from a year earlier in its core business.

Signs the slide may be leveling off

It isn't all decline. The WFDSA's December 2025 STATS report put 2024 global sales at $163.9 billion. It called that "essentially flat," down just 0.05% from its revised 2023 figure, and said the post-pandemic slump "may be bottoming out." In 2024, 45% of WFDSA markets grew, up from 23% in 2022.

Some companies are growing again, too. A July 2025 Direct Selling News poll looked at 100 companies with at least $50 million in North American annual revenue run rate, and 80 gave complete data. Half of those reported global revenue growth of at least 2% in the first half of 2025.

What this means for party plan companies

Fewer people are signing up, and most who do earn very little. That makes honest income disclosures, realistic earnings talk, and real retail customers matter more than ever.

If you lead a field team, know your own company's numbers before you talk income with a recruit. The people you're talking to may have already read the figures above.

Note: This is general information based on publicly reported data. It isn't financial, legal, or business advice. Company figures come from public filings and don't reflect typical distributor results. Figures are from the sources named, as of the years given, and may be revised. Most direct sellers earn little or nothing. Before you join any direct selling company, read its income disclosure statement.