The Wall Street Journal is reporting that consumer products giant Procter & Gamble Co. is about to launch an online store that will sell key brands such as Tide (laundry powder), Pampers and Olay, aiming to study consumer buying habits as it counters moves by traditional retailers, which have reduced the variety of brands they carry.

P&G spokeswoman Tressie Long said the company sees the new online store as more of a “learning lab,” where it can study consumers’ online buying habits, rather than as a direct source of sales growth. P&G, which already sells its products online through the Web sites of such retailers as Wal-Mart Stores Inc., says it will share what it learns with retailers that carry its brands.

P&G’s new “eStore” will start as a pilot using 5,000 consumers in coming days, expanding beyond that user base in the second quarter. There will be a flat US$5 shipping fee for all orders.

Despite P&G’s push into the online medium, sales at traditional retailers will remain key to its business. P&G gets about half a billion dollars in online sales, a fraction of its roughly $79 billion in annual sales. Nielsen estimates online sales of consumer packaged goods including food, beverage, health and beauty aids and household cleaners increased 20% to 25% between 2004 and 2008, hitting roughly $10 billion in 2008.

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Tags: CPG, eCommerce, estore, P&G