Girl Scouts launch online cookie program

AUSTIN, Texas — Americans will soon have a new way to get their Girl Scout Cookie fix as the program launches an online tool allowing its green-clad young members to sell Thin Mints, Samoas and other sweet treats over the Internet.

The “Digital Cookie” tool, which goes lives on Dec. 12, is intended to help scouts learn online marketing and e-commerce, as well skills including goal-setting and money management, according to the Girl Scouts of America.

The online tool unveiled on Monday will provide a new outlet for the 1 million members to sell the cookies, which raise money for scouting programs. Scouts will also continue to sell the sweets door to door or at booths.

“Digital Cookie is a game-changer for Girl Scouts, and a quantum leap forward in the evolution of the cookie program,” said Anna Maria Chávez, the organization’s chief executive officer.

The program allows scouts to sell their wares directly through email, or to use a mobile app for payment and direct delivery when they make in-person sales.

Kimberly Welsh, a Girl Scouts of San Jacinto Council volunteer in Houston, said her daughter participated in a test of the program last year.

“She enjoyed being able to manage her orders and keep track of her goals in one place,” Welsh said, adding that customers said they liked the convenience of bulk ordering and home delivery.

Girl Scouts have been selling cookies to raise money for their troops nearly every year since their moms started baking them in their kitchens in 1917.

During World War Two, when ingredients were in short supply, scouts sold calendars, but resumed the cookies after the war ended.