Direct ship Girl Scout cookie orders up 500% in Medford this cookie season

In this most unusual 2020/21 cookie season, direct ship orders grew by over 500% in Medford from 2,336 last year to 14,878 this year. While a huge leap, it’s not surprising considering that direct ship was the only option when the sale started in November. In addition, perhaps customers preferred to have their cookies delivered to their homes as a way to maintain social distance. Direct ship sales were also given a boost by Medford’s Virtual Cookie Booth, which was open 24/7 throughout the sale on our website, and was hosted by each troop in turn.

Starting in January, troops were allowed to hold contactless and drive-thru cookie booths in Medford but some troops stuck to the online and one-to-one sales methods such as virtual cookie booths and contactless girl delivery orders. Girl Scouts of Eastern Massachusetts never went to “Phase 3” of the sale, which would have allowed for door-to-door sales and additional booth options, nor did they organize any Council Organized Booth Sales (COBS).

Despite these obstacles, Medford’s girls and troops found ways to make it work. The 28 troops that participated in the cookie sale sold 39,569 packages of cookies! While less than last year, that’s still pretty amazing.

In addition to the growth in direct ship orders, Cookie Share (aka C-Share, aka Cookies for Cause) sales also took a leap this year growing over 200% from 322 last year to 1,076 this year. The Cookie Share sales that were processed online through the Smart Cookies website were distributed to front line health care workers and food pantries by Girl Scouts of Eastern Massachusetts, and many of our Medford troops distributed there Cookies for a Cause to local similar charities such as the caregivers at Winchester Hospital or the Community Cupboard Food Pantry in Medford.