For several years, the Girl Scouts of the U.S. have been prohibited to sell cookies online. The girls would normally do the traditional in-person transactions and would keep track of their sales using a spreadsheet in their PCs.
Now, after almost 100 years of selling cookies the traditional way, the Girl Scouts are going digital and can start taking orders through email. The new program, dubbed "Digital Cookie," is by invitation only. A customer will gain access to the system after getting an email invitation from a Girl Scout.
The program is definitely an easier way to keep track of cookie sales. It even encourages the girls to set their own cookie sales goal as the program is also designed to calculate the number of days a scout has before reaching the sales target and also monitor the goal percentage that the girls have already reached. It also promotes safe transactions for both the girl scouts and their customers as the parents need to approve the content of the page.
More than just increasing sales, the program is also a way for the girls to learn some important e-lessons. These center on learning new ways of handling customers and money, tracking and articulating goals, and processing credit card details more efficiently. Moreover, the girls will have the chance to experience using apps and online marketing.
"It allows you to reach customers that you would not reach otherwise," said 15-year-old Lauren Tinglin of the Girl Scouts of Greater New York.
Lauren will start selling cookies on Dec. 12. She also plans to reach out to her family in Florida and Georgia through digital selling.
"I think it helps me organize my life in a way. It has you set goals. I think it will help me grow as a person and a future businesswoman," she shared.
In some areas, girls can use a mobile app that allows them to do direct shipping and credit card processing.
"Girls have been telling us that they want to go into this space," said Sarah Angel-Johnson, chief digital cookie executive for an organization that handles around 2 million girls. "Online is where entrepreneurship is going."
"Digital Cookie" can be accessed using either a web-based platform or a mobile version. For sales done on the web, the girls can customize their pages where only their first names will be displayed. They can send email to prospective customers, which will include a link for placing orders. They can also upload videos to introduce themselves and explain where the proceeds of sales are going.
The mobile platform can be used on either a tablet device or a smartphone. It features tabs that allows sales tracking and the bundle-selling of various kinds of cookies.
The total revenue from the cookie sales will remain with the Scout council, which sponsors the sale. The girls can decide on how they would spend their troop cookie money. They can also use it as a way to reinvest in their communities.
