Direct selling in India grew 4.7 per cent in the first half of the pandemic hit 2020-21 to touch total sales of Rs 7,518 crore, aided by heightened demand for health and nutrition segment products, according to a report by industry body IDSA.

During the period, 53.18 lakh persons joined the direct selling with a daily average of 29,064 new entrants, with the emergence of the work from home concept, enabling people to explore additional sources of income, said the Indian Direct Selling Association (IDSA).

"The emergence of the work from home concept has enabled people to explore options where they can have an additional source of self-sustainable income while doing work from home," said a fact sheet released by IDSA. While talking about the sales growth in the first half of 2020-21, the association said around 55 per cent of the gross direct selling turnover in India comes from the wellness category which witnessed an increased demand.

Moreover, the direct selling companies quickly adopted the technology, to connect with the customers, when there was restriction over the movement.

"Direct selling entities adopted technologies like Zoom, WebEx, etc. which greatly increased the reach and capacity to address new prospects. Additionally, the entities were able to increase the frequency and number of meetings," it said.

Over the years, direct selling entities have created a robust delivery system that helped in the home delivery of goods during the pandemic. For FY 2019-20, the Indian direct selling industry has a growth of 28.26 per cent to Rs 16,776.2 crore as against Rs 13,080 crore of FY 2018-19.

According to the report, the wellness segment was the highest contributor with 57 per cent, followed by cosmetics and personal care with 22 per cent, and the household goods and durables segment with 8 per cent.

Maharashtra was the highest contributor with 12 per cent of the sales, followed by West Bengal with 11 per cent and 9 per cent by Uttar Pradesh in FY 2019-20. "The growth trajectory of the industry has been on a surge over the years.

"A CAGR (compound annual growth rate) of 18 per cent is a testament of the fact that direct selling business in the country has made a steady progress and is poised to further strengthen its position in the coming years on the back of promising regulatory framework by the government," IDSA Chairperson Rini Sanyal said. IDSA is a self-regulatory body for the direct selling industry in India.

Earlier this month, the government has come with a draft regulation for the direct selling industry. The consumer affairs ministry has framed the Consumer Protection (Direct Selling) Rules, 2021, and sought public comments by July 21.