The Girl Scouts of America announced Monday morning that their popular cookies will be available for order online via the organization’s new Digital Cookie e-commerce platform, which allows Girl Scouts to direct customers, either in-person or via email invitation, to order cookies through their personalized website. The program includes an additional app that allows the girls to process credit card orders.
Anna Maria Chávez, CEO of GSUSA, said that the new program will help inspire entrepreneurship among members.
“For almost a century, the Girl Scout Cookie Program has been teaching girls to be leaders in the world of business and finance, and we intend to ensure that legacy continues in the digital age,” said Chávez in a statement. “Digital Cookie is a game-changer for Girl Scouts and a quantum leap forward in the evolution of the cookie program, coupling traditional sales activities with an online sales experience that teaches skills like online marketing and e-commerce, all in a digital space that puts an emphasis on learning, fun, and safety.”
It is no doubt that Digital Cookie will help boost cookie sales. People will likely order more cookies if they are not limited by the constraints of a cash-only system, especially if Americans are carrying fewer amounts of cash. Additionally, moving cookie sales online will allow Girl Scout troops to reach a wider consumer base.
But during an age in which anything from groceries to romance can already be purchased online, why did the Girl Scouts wait until now to install a digital platform for their popular cookies? The online sale of cookies has been discouraged by the Girl Scouts in the past, such as the time the organization asked Alana Thompson (also known as “Honey Boo Boo”) to take down a cookie advertisement on her Facebook page, which she promoted on behalf of a friend.
This could partly be due to the nature of the organization itself. Although cookie sales are a major source of revenue for the Girl Scouts, its main objective is to empower young girls. It is possible that the organization wanted to limit cookie sales to face-to-face transactions, allowing members to better develop interpersonal and business communication skills (excluding the orders taken by girl scout parents in their workplaces).
Besides, the Girl Scouts have built a reputation for the deliciousness of their cookies, and it’s not like you can walk into a grocery store and pick up a box of Tagalongs any time you want. People are willing to shell out dough when cookie sales begin, as evidenced by the fact that the Girl Scout cookie empire is worth an estimated $700 million dollars and about 200 million boxes are sold each year. It’s not as if business has been at stake because consumers weren’t able to place an order from the comfort of their own homes.
Another reason why the organization may have prohibited e-commerce is that cookie sales are actually pretty competitive both within and between Girl Scout troops. The individual scouts and troops with the highest sales receive prizes such as electronics, museum overnight packages and “cookie credits,” which can be used to pay for sessions at Girl Scout camps. By prohibiting online sales, the Girl Scouts may have been discouraging tech-savvy parents from using tactics to boost their children’s sales.
By installing its own e-commerce platform, the Girl Scouts help eliminate this risk in addition to providing a safe platform for its Scouts to sell their cookies. After all, selling cookies door-to-door is not only an outdated method, but a potentially dangerous one at that. And if the Girl Scouts truly want to inspire young girls to enter the business world, teaching them the basics of commerce in the digital age is crucial.
As for the rest of us, we can thank the Girl Scouts and Digital Cookie for making it possible to shamelessly and frequently order boxes of Thin Mints from the comfort of our couches.
Image via GSUSA
