Coronavirus: Avon reports 53% spike in UK reps

Beauty brand Avon has reported a spike in UK sales representative sign-ups this year.

The global company saw a 53% increase in new UK reps during the first eight months of 2020, compared to the same period last year.

More people have been turning to the firm for online work as unemployment rates rise, particularly amongst young people.

The UK unemployment rate hit 4.5% in the three months to August according to the latest Office for National Statistics figures.

And the number of employees on UK payrolls is now down by 673,000 compared with March 2020.

READ MORE: ‘Over a 1,000 UK start-ups collapse due to Covid-19’

But Avon has allowed reps to flourish during lockdown. Instead of the traditional method of selling beauty products door-to-door Avon reps now use social media to grow sales.

And the business is attracting social media savvy youngsters who have been hardest hit by unemployment.

WATCH: UK unemployment hits 1.5 million

The Resolution Foundation has recently warned that youth unemployment could rise to the same level as the early 1980s peak — around 17%.

An estimated 1.5 million Brits were unemployed between June and August, while redundancies stood at 227,000.

Around 300,000 people out of work are aged 16 to 24, accounting for 60% of the fall in employment.

READ MORE: UK unemployment hits 1.5 million on record leap in redundancies

More than a fifth of Avon reps are now under 30-years-old, and those that run their business online earn up to 97% more than offline sellers.

“At a time when there is so much uncertainty as a result of COVID-19, more people are exploring new earning opportunities and looking for ways to support their communities.

“We’ve seen our 5 million representatives pivot their businesses not only to transition to digital social selling, but also provide support to the most vulnerable by picking up prescriptions and shopping, to checking in on neighbours,” said Matthieu Comard, Avon’s managing director, western Europe.