Girl Scout cookie selling season runs from Jan. 17 through March 1, but this year the well-known door-to-door, hands-on experience will be enhanced by online sales.

The national, so-called Digital Cookie platform allows Girl Scouts to create web-based businesses that allow them to not only sell product online, but also track their goals and progress.

“Through Digital Cookie, we are bringing the Girl Scout Cookie Program fully into the 21st century,” Lisa Jones, CEO of Girl Scouts-North Carolina Coastal Pines, which covers southeastern North Carolina, said in a news release.

“Digital Cookie lets us continue our proud tradition of teaching today’s girls the skills of tomorrow, while remaining true to the core principles of the Girl Scout mission and the values taught by our iconic cookie program.”

Using the COCO Cookie Command Platform designed by ABC Baker, it enhances the five
skills the original cookie program was designed to instill for the participating girls: goal setting, decision making, money management, people skills and business ethics while adding Internet-focused business skills including online marketing, application use and e-commerce, officials said.

This year is the launch of the Digital Cookie program, but it is only the initial phase. Plans are for upcoming versions to improve on the platform.