Retailing vs. Direct-to-Consumer Sales

I wrote the following on a discussion forum. It highlighted the importance of defining one's terms as I and the gentleman with whom I was debating were using the term "retailing" differently:

I think we are using the term, "retail sales" and "retailing" differently. Perhaps I should use the term, "direct-to-consumer sales" or something like that because I agree with you that the companies we are discussing do not sell their products in retail outlets.

Mary Kay is not sold alongside Clinique in Nordstroms--you can only purchase Mary Kay from a Consultant. So in that sense, Mary Kay does not allow retailing but they do emphasize direct-to-consumer sales via their independent representatives (Consultants).

And I agree that one does not have to become a Mary Kay or Pampered Chef Consultant to purchase their products. But the same is true for many "traditional" MLM companies. As a result of the court decision I referenced earlier, many companies have developed "preferred customer" programs that enable consumers to purchase products at the same wholesale price as distributors without having to become a distributor.

While you cite some companies, Melaleuca, Life Force International, and Sportron, which want everyone to become a distributor, there are many more companies with customer programs, e.g., the company I represent, USANA, along with (if my memory serves me correctly) Amigo, Freelife, Pharmanex, Reliv, Isagenix, Shaklee, Mannatech, Young Living, Xango, and Herbalife.

I think it's a matter of degree. Some companies, particularly the "party plan" companies, emphasize more direct-to-consumer sales, while the ones you mentioned want everyone to become a distributor. The nutritional MLM's I mentioned in the previous paragraph are somewhere in the middle. They may have customer programs but they differ in how easy it is for a customer to order without the assistance of a distributor and the extent to which they try to persuade customers to become distributors.