Girl Scout cookie sales going online

The long-awaited day for office workers has arrived: Girl Scout cookies are going digital.

Yesterday, Girl Scouts of the USA announced the rollout of a program to bring sales of Thin Mints, Samoas and the rest of its cookie classics online.

Girl Scouts will be able to handle online sales starting this cookie season, either by sending emailed invites to a personalized cookie sales website they've created, or by taking in-person orders with a new mobile app that can process credit cards on the spot.

Customers will also be able to have cookies shipped directly to them.

The organization has been slow to adopt online sales. Despite the release of a mobile app that helped customers find sellers and a move to smartphone credit card sales, Girl Scouts have been banned from Internet sales until now.

In 2009, 8-year-old Girl Scout Wild Freeborn of Asheville, N.C., set up an online ordering site with the help of her father, but Girl Scouts said it was against the rules.

Girl Scouts USA says the online sales will help teach the girls online marketing and business skills and let them track sales and customers online.

"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," CEO Anna Maria Chavez said in a statement.

The organization says most of its 112 Girl Scout councils nationwide will be participating this season, with more expected next year as they continue the rollout.

-- Los Angeles Times