The numbers
All figures are WFDSA 2024 data from the WFDSA Statistical Database unless noted.
| Measure | 2024 | Change |
|---|---|---|
| Retail sales | EUR 17.6 billion ($19.05 billion in constant 2024 USD) | down 3.7% in euros |
| Global rank | 2 | |
| Share of global sales | 11.6% | |
| 3-year compound annual change | +3.2% | |
| Independent representatives | 907,634 | up 2.9% from 881,772 |
| Women in the sales force | 52% |
Sales by product group (WFDSA, 2024, DSA member companies): household goods and durables 13%, utilities 12%, food and beverages 11%, cosmetics and personal care 10%, books, toys and stationery 9%, home improvement 9%, home care 8%, wellness 8%, clothing and accessories 7%, other products and services 7%, financial services 6%.
WFDSA coverage note: Sales and sales force cover the entire industry; product split and gender are DSA member companies only.
What the numbers say
Germany is the second largest market in the world, per WFDSA, and it looks nothing like the US. No product group is above 13% of sales. Utilities, food, home improvement, and household durables all matter, and wellness is one of the smaller slices. The sales force is close to evenly split between women and men, which is rare; the global figure is 72.1% women, per the WFDSA Global Statistics page.
Sales dipped in 2024 while the number of representatives grew, and the three-year trend is still positive. That points to a stable seller base with slightly lower sales per person in 2024.
The German association's own 2026 study reports about $24 billion in sales for 2025, up 1.7%, with 906,433 active sales partners, as reported by Direct Selling News and covered in our note on the BDD study. Its method and year differ from WFDSA's, so treat the two as separate views.
For party-plan brands coming from the US, the takeaways are a broad product mix, with household and food products well represented, and a field that may include nearly as many men as women.
Association
The national association is the Bundesverband Direktvertrieb Deutschland (BDD).
Related on Party Plan Solutions
- German DSA reports renewed sales growth and sharp rise in AI investment 2026-09-21
- Mary Kay Germany rolls out Beauty Is More Beautiful Shared (follow-on to global platform) 2026-09-14
- WFDSA: global direct selling ~$163.9B in 2024 - flat, with nearly half of markets still growing 2026-09-04
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Note on this data
Figures are as published by WFDSA for 2024 and may be restated in later releases. WFDSA converts local currency to constant 2024 US dollars, so dollar figures can differ from local reports. This page is general information about the market. It is not financial, legal, or business advice, and it does not describe what any person will earn. Starting or joining a direct selling business carries risk, and results vary.