Issue #071

Welcome to your weekly dose of TooXToo, this week featuring the first make-up store for men, the caravan reboot, Zara’s supercharged service & a very British campaign for the Covid-19 vaccine.

War Paint for Men

Last week saw the opening of War Paint for Men on London’s Carnaby Street. It claims to be the first make-up store specifically for men and carries a full range of products from foundation and bronzer to beard and brow fillers.

Founder Danny Grey champions the connection between make-up and better mental health and is partnering with The Lions Barber Collective, a group of not-for-profit barbers trained in mental health support to help prevent male suicide. They'll be offering 'haircuts and headspace' from their new home in War Paint's store, with barbershop profits funding the collective's work elsewhere.

Whether people prefer to go make-up free or enjoy using products to help feel their best, everyone, regardless of gender should be able to make that choice for themselves. War Paint for Men are a great example of a brand allowing consumers to explore their own identities through self-expression.

The good old fashioned caravan holiday gets a reboot…

Just outside of the British seaside town of Margate, Club Jupiter have reimagined the much-maligned caravan holiday as a hip, retro escape.

Founded by a trio if interior designers, Club Jupiter have merged the ethos of a boutique hotel with the nostalgic lure of a caravan holiday. Described as “Pontins meets Palm Springs” the interiors bring together retro Britain with American kitsch, the bedrooms for example, are covered in cowboy-themed wallpaper.

And with bookings nearly sold out through to October 2021, it's clear that with travel restrictions still in place many holidaymakers are looking for something a little closer to home.

Zara’s supercharged service

Zara have gone one step further to enhance the click-and-collect process. Housed within the app, the Store Mode concept offers customers real-time inventory information and rapid collection times, allowing them to personalise their purchase journey in the way which suits them best.

Store mode can be split into three options:

• Click & Go: Shoppers can check in to any store and see only the products and sizes available in that specific location in real time. After browsing, a Click & Go feature allows customers to purchase items in-app for collection in 30 minutes.
  
  QR codes are stored in-app, serving as digital receipts and expediting the checkout process while also reducing paper waste.

• Click & Find: If shoppers don’t want to buy an item in-app before seeing it physically, they can opt for the Click & Find function instead. This uses geolocation to quickly navigate them to items in-store via an on-screen map, minimising the time spent searching for an item or speaking to a store assistant. 
• Click & Try: The app’s Click & Try function allows users to reserve fitting rooms, circumnavigating potentially lengthy queues. The store assistant simply scans the in-app reservation QR code to grant the customer access to their booked changing room.

Pub-goers encouraged to get vaccinated

Grey London have come up with a new and very British way to encourage people to get the vaccine...via beer mats.

The mats carry a number of different vaccination messages and are being distributed to independent pubs that have lacked financial support during the pandemic. For many hospitality venues, the vaccination programme is key to their survival.