STORES

Name: STORES
Brand: ヘイ株式会社

Leader

Just for Fun. こだわりや情熱、楽しみに駆動される経済をつくる

Est 2012|Valuation $768.3M|Raised $208.6M

LinkedIn 376|Website|Web traffic 21K|FTEs 332|HQ Tokyo, Japan

MarketseCommerce Software Invoicing & Payment Processing

01Competitive Landscape

Narrative analysis

- Payments economics: STORES public materials and press coverage reference card-present pricing for some plans; plan eligibility, card-present vs card-not-present mix, and settlement terms materially affect effective processing costs and should be modeled by buyers. - E-commerce fees: plan differences shift transaction fees; the general pattern is that monthly subscription plans can lower per-transaction take rates compared with free-tier arrangements, but buyers should confirm current official fee tables. - Alternative strength: certain domestic alternatives are commonly considered by Japanese SMBs and have varying fee structures and ecosystems.

	STORES (suite)	Square	Shopify
Starting Price	Vendor references a bundled SMB-oriented standard plan at published monthly pricing; buyers should confirm current local pricing	Varies; Square provides payments-first pricing in Japan with a fee-structured approach rather than a bundled subscription in the same manner	Published entry-level monthly plan in international markets; local Japan pricing should be confirmed
Suitable for	Japan SMBs seeking a combined POS + payments + booking + e-commerce vendor under one plan	Merchants seeking integrated payments and POS with a payments-first focus and a broad partner ecosystem	E-commerce-first brands that require extensibility and a large app/theme ecosystem
Key Strength	Bundles multiple store functions under a single vendor and has published plan information and reported in-person card rates in press coverage	Payments-first tooling with integration into POS and hardware; broad integrations	Deep e-commerce feature set, large third-party app ecosystem, and international scaling features
Key Weakness	Independent user reports indicate support responsiveness and UX concerns in some cases; enterprise security attestations beyond PCI were not clearly documented in the materials reviewed	Community posts sometimes reference fee changes and support experiences; specifics vary by market	App costs and transaction/processor fees can increase total cost of ownership; additional complexity for advanced customization

01Competitive Landscape

Narrative analysis

Payments economics: STORES public materials and press coverage reference card-present pricing for some plans; plan eligibility, card-present vs card-not-present mix, and settlement terms materially affect effective processing costs and should be modeled by buyers.
E-commerce fees: plan differences shift transaction fees; the general pattern is that monthly subscription plans can lower per-transaction take rates compared with free-tier arrangements, but buyers should confirm current official fee tables.
Alternative strength: certain domestic alternatives are commonly considered by Japanese SMBs and have varying fee structures and ecosystems.

	STORES (suite)	Square	Shopify
Starting Price	Vendor references a bundled SMB-oriented standard plan at published monthly pricing; buyers should confirm current local pricing	Varies; Square provides payments-first pricing in Japan with a fee-structured approach rather than a bundled subscription in the same manner	Published entry-level monthly plan in international markets; local Japan pricing should be confirmed
Suitable for	Japan SMBs seeking a combined POS + payments + booking + e-commerce vendor under one plan	Merchants seeking integrated payments and POS with a payments-first focus and a broad partner ecosystem	E-commerce-first brands that require extensibility and a large app/theme ecosystem
Key Strength	Bundles multiple store functions under a single vendor and has published plan information and reported in-person card rates in press coverage	Payments-first tooling with integration into POS and hardware; broad integrations	Deep e-commerce feature set, large third-party app ecosystem, and international scaling features
Key Weakness	Independent user reports indicate support responsiveness and UX concerns in some cases; enterprise security attestations beyond PCI were not clearly documented in the materials reviewed	Community posts sometimes reference fee changes and support experiences; specifics vary by market	App costs and transaction/processor fees can increase total cost of ownership; additional complexity for advanced customization