Explore the UK

Direct to Consumer (D2C) Retail in the UK

The UK & its population

The UK is a country of some 94,000 square miles, made up of the countries of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, and with a population of over 67 million. [1]

Population density varies considerably across the country, from around 5,640 people per square kilometre (km), in London to regions such as the South West which has a density of just 242 people per square km.

The major conurbations of the UK include London, Manchester, Birmingham, Leeds, Edinburgh, Glasgow and Cardiff. Broadly speaking, the south of the UK is more heavily populated than the north, with the number of people living in capital city London to be estimated to be around nine million. [2]

Work / finances

The median gross annual earnings for full-time employees in the UK are approximately £34,963 [3], and this figure saw a 5.8% increase compared to the previous year. The minimum wage in the UK, which is mandated for all workers, varies depending on age, but for those aged over 21 is currently £11.44 per hour. By comparison, the average house price in the UK as of December 2023 was £285,000.[4]

Unemployment currently sits at just over 4% of the population – about 1.4 million people, and the wider but related issue of the UK’s ‘economically inactive’ population (estimated to be a further 9 million or so people) has been a significant news topic in the first quarter of 2024. [5]

Direct to Consumer (D2C) retail in the UK

As in many countries, but perhaps even more so in the UK where there has been significant growth in D2C retail, the rise of e-commerce, accelerated by the pandemic, has blurred the lines between what it means to be a D2C, direct selling or a ‘traditional’ retail brand over recent years.

The UK has been home to many of D2C’s biggest and most well-respected names, from Dame Anita Roddick’s The Body Shop, which started up in 1976 in Brighton, to Ann Summers, whose remarkable Executive Chair Jacqueline Gold was widely credited as having invented the concept of ‘Party Plan’ selling. Usborne Community Partnerships, the D2C division of much-loved children’s publisher Usborne, which was founded by Peter Usborne in 1973 and continues to be family-owned and run to this day. Avon, now headquartered in the UK of course, has substantial consumer recognition in the UK, and staggeringly, its brochures reach more women across the UK than all of the country’s women’s magazines combined with around 1.4 million copies distributed each month.

As well as such household brands, the UK has also been home to many of the most successful examples of more recent entries into the D2C space, with the likes of Gymshark, Skin+Me, Lick, and Beauty Pie all UK-founded.

Over the last five years, the UK Direct Selling Association has altered its positioning to reflect this evolution in D2C retail. Having originally been established in 1965 – a trailblazing era for UK retail – by the original pioneers of D2C, the Direct Selling Association now represents brands from all areas of D2C and is the leading voice for this area of retail in the UK.

The Association is now working to bring the expertise gained through its work with retail leaders such as Avon, Usborne and Ann Summers to the wide-range of UK D2C brands, from fast-growth and early stage to more established brands leveraging D2C channels as new routes to market.

Direct Selling Association membership in the UK

The UK is widely seen as having some of the highest levels of business ethics and consumer protection in the world.

Maintaining these high standards across its membership is a core part of the Direct Selling Association’s work, and as well as wide-ranging support to provide education, training and resources to maintain and improve standards, audits are also conducted with member companies to ensure compliance with Codes of Conduct.

One aspect of UK regulation which is unique to the UK is the ‘£200 / 7 day rule’, also known as the “cooling off period”, a limit of £200 on the amount which a new direct seller can pay or undertake to pay in the first 7 days of becoming a direct seller.

Approximately 50 D2C brands have been accepted for current full Direct Selling Association membership in the UK at the time of writing. Application for membership is voluntary: by applying to join the Direct Selling Association membership, a company is proactively demonstrating its commitment to the higher standards of processes and business practices required of member companies compared to non-members.

There is a growing public recognition of the difference between those brands that have been accepted as Direct Selling Association members, and those who have not, and key stakeholders such as the UK media advise that people ‘look for the Direct Selling Association logo’ in order to choose a reputable brand.

Public Perceptions

As with many brands and industries, public perceptions of direct selling in the UK have changed and evolved over time, ranging from the 1960s and 70s heydays of ‘Avon Ladies’ and Tupperware parties to more challenging episodes when more negative connotations were more common. Some of these issues have arguably related to cultural differences between the UK market and some American-owned brands – the British perhaps tending more towards measured understatement, an approach which was sometimes at odds with the overt wealth and success stories that attracted attention in some other markets.

The UK Direct Selling Association has undertaken a significant amount of work in recent years to address such public perceptions, particularly with the media, and through profiling examples of more ‘typical’ Consultants or Representatives earning this way.

Female financial empowerment is a key underpinning message for much of the Direct Selling Association’s external communications work, and Director General Susannah Schofield was awarded an OBE for her work in the sphere of advocating for women and young people in the 2015 Queen’s Honours List.

The future

The outlook for D2C retail in the UK is – despite some challenges (many of which are being seen in other global markets) – an exciting one.

From a consumer perspective, the channel continues to offer a positive, personalised buying experience, as well as a useful way to supplement family finances amidst significant financial challenges being experienced by many during the UK’s ‘Cost of Living’ crisis.

Meanwhile developments by key players in the UK market will be interesting to monitor over the coming months, not least the innovative steps being taken by Avon to support and amplify its core Consultant-led approach with new bricks and mortar shops as well as a partnership with the UK’s second-largest beauty and health retailer, Superdrug.

Additionally, with new start-up D2C brands constantly emerging in the UK market, as well as new moves into the D2C space by established retailers such as Damart, part of the French Damartex group, the UK’s D2C marketplace is proving to be both buoyant and varied: The Direct Selling Association’s work to include the full spectrum of D2C brands is expected to lead to significant growth at the Association over future years.

[1] Data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
[2] Data from the Greater London Authority.
[3] ONS
[4] ONS
[5] BBC

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Written by Susannah Schofield OBE, Director General of the UK Direct Selling Association. Prior to this, she was Commercial & Innovation Director at Royal Mail, where she led a team of 300. A passionate advocate for women and young people in business, Susannah was awarded an OBE for her work in this area in the 2015 Queen’s Honours List. As well as being a published author (of business strategy book Mind the Gap), Susannah has lectured for various universities, and also served as an advisor to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS).