P&G tests online store

New York City Procter & Gamble Co. plans to launch an online store that will sell key brands, aiming to study consumer-buying habits.

P&G's new online store comes as traditional retailers have reduced the variety of brands they carry and pushed their own private-label products. P&G spokeswoman Tressie Long said Thursday the company sees the new online store as more of a "learning lab" where it can study consumers' online buying habits, rather than 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, said it will share what it learns with its other retailers.