You will no longer have to wait eagerly by your door for a Girl Scout to knock on it and offer to sell you Thin Mints, Savannahs Smiles, or any of the other delicious varieties of Girl Scout cookies. Starting this cookie season, you will be able to buy boxes of your favorite cookies online and have them delivered to your door.
The Girl Scouts of the USA have decided to let young budding entrepreneurs sell cookies online as well as door to door. This marks the first time in 100 years that the organization has allowed their members sell cookies through some other method than face-to-face.
According to Time , the decision was prompted by requests from Girl Scouts who wanted to sell their cookies online. The cookies will be sold either through a mobile app or through the scouts’ own websites. However, the scouts will need to get approval from their local council and their parents to take their sales efforts online.
The new program is dubbed Digital Cookie, and it allows scouts to take orders via email, as well as through their personal websites. The program will teach girls how to market the cookies online and instruct them about finance and online communication. The girls will also learn about the importance of goal setting through the new program.
As USA Today reported, most of the 112 Girl Scout councils across the country will be testing the program during the upcoming cookie selling season. Digital Cookie isn’t designed to replace face-to-face sells, but to give scouts another route to help increase their sells, according to Kelly Parisi, who is the chief communications executive for GSUSA.
“We are girl-led and girl-driven. We go where girls are, and girls are digital natives. The digital component will enhance the sales, and the byproduct will be a larger social imprint from the girls.”
The revenue raised from cookie sales stay with the local council sponsoring the cookie sales and the girls help decide how the money raised by their troop is spent. Even though the Girl Scout memberships have declined in recent years, as reported by the Inquisitr , cookie sales remain strong, and generate nearly $800 million in sales each year.
The only drawback to the digital program may be for customers as they still won’t be able to get their favorite cookie flavors outside of Girl Scout cookie season. Cookies will be available in some areas starting December 12, but not all Girl Scout councils sell their cookies at the same time of the year.
You can download the Digital Cookie mobile app, which is available for both Android and iPhone platforms, and find when cookies are available in your area by going to the GSUSA website .
[Image by The Associated Press ]