Note: This article covers STORES, an e-commerce platform available only in Japan. This will not be relevant if you are not evaluating platforms for the Japanese market.
If you want to start an online store, you may be interested in STORES, a service that lets you get started easily at a low cost. But you may hesitate to use it if you are unsure about its features, pricing, and other details.
This article explains STORES in detail, from what it is to its advantages and disadvantages. It also covers pricing plans, support, and examples of businesses using STORES, so read on if you are considering the service.
※This article is based on a manuscript from September 2026. Pricing, features, and other details were checked against official information on October 1, 2026.
What Is STORES?
Image source: STORES
STORES is a service operated by STORES Inc. that helps you set up and run an online store. In addition to online stores, STORES offers a range of services, including:
- STORES Payments (STORES決済)
- STORES Reservations (STORES予約)
- STORES Register (STORESレジ)
- STORES Data Analytics (STORESデータ分析)
- STORES Mobile Order (STORESモバイルオーダー)
- STORES Loyalty (STORESロイヤリティ)
You can use the online store service on its own, or choose a pricing plan that lets you combine multiple services, such as cashless payments, a POS register, and a booking system. There is also a Free plan with no monthly fee, making it easy for small and medium-sized businesses without a large budget to start an online store.
STORES revised its pricing plans in March 2026, and now offers two plans: the Free plan and the Standard plan. Some information still refers to legacy plan names such as Basic, so check the official website for the latest pricing.
Cost of Opening an Online Store with STORES
STORES mainly offers the following two pricing plans.
| Pricing plan | Free plan | Standard plan |
|---|---|---|
| Initial fee | ¥0 | ¥0 |
| Monthly fee | ¥0 | ¥3,300 ※Including tax; monthly price with an annual contract |
| Payment processing fee | 5.5% to 6.5% | 3.6% to 4.6% |
| Cash on delivery | × | 〇 |
| Payment method customization (決済方法カスタマイズ) | × | 〇 |
| Item video embedding (アイテム動画埋め込み) | × | 〇 |
| News video embedding (ニュース動画埋め込み) | × | 〇 |
| Unpublished message customization (非公開文言カスタマイズ) | × | 〇 |
| Custom domain | × | 〇 |
| Hide service logo (サービスロゴ非表示) | × | 〇 |
| Item number management (品番管理) | × | 〇 |
| Bulk inventory update via CSV (在庫数CSV一括更新) | × | 〇 |
| Shipping label CSV export (送り状CSV出力) | × | 〇 |
| Customer information CSV download (顧客情報CSVダウンロード) | × | 〇 |
| Bulk item deletion (アイテム一括削除) | × | 〇 |
| Delivery date selection (配送日指定) | × | 〇 |
| Limited item publishing (アイテム限定公開) | × | 〇 |
Reference: STORES
The Free plan has no initial or monthly fee and provides what you need to set up and run an online store. However, some features, such as bulk item deletion and delivery date selection, are unavailable. If you want to run your store more efficiently, consider the Standard plan.
The STORES Standard plan is available with either an annual or a monthly contract. The monthly price is ¥3,300 including tax with an annual contract, or ¥3,960 including tax with a monthly contract.
If you use only credit card payments on the Standard plan with an annual contract, the combined monthly fee and payment processing fees become lower than on the Free plan when monthly sales exceed approximately ¥174,000 (calculated as ¥3,300 divided by the 1.9-percentage-point difference in processing fees). Actual costs vary by payment method and contract length, so compare the plans based on your store's circumstances. Also, if monthly sales are ¥1.5 million or more, STORES advises contacting it directly for an individual inquiry.
If you cancel an annual Standard plan contract before it ends, fees for the contract period are not refunded, and the plan stops at the next renewal. Check the contract period carefully before signing up.
Benefits of Opening an Online Store with STORES
Here are the benefits of opening an online store with STORES.
Manage In-Store Checkout, Bookings, and Your Online Store in One Place
Image source: STORES
The most distinctive feature of STORES is that you can run your online store, POS register, cashless payments, and booking system from one account and dashboard. You can manage inventory across your physical and online stores, helping prevent mistakes such as selling an item online after it has already sold in-store.
The following services are available when you subscribe to the Standard plan (¥3,300 per month including tax with an annual contract).
| Service | Overview |
|---|---|
| Cashless payments | A service for accepting cashless payments such as credit cards, electronic money, and QR codes |
| POS register | A register system that lets you manage inventory, take stock, and analyze sales while processing transactions |
| Online store | A service for setting up and running an online store |
| Booking system | A service for managing booking information, advance payments, multi-use passes, and more in one place |
| Mobile ordering | A service that lets customers order and pay for products from a mobile phone or other device |
| Data analytics | Features for consolidating and analyzing product information by channel, analyzing members, analyzing sales, and more |
※Some functions of the booking system, mobile ordering, and other services are limited under the Standard plan, and some require additional fees.
Because you can manage your physical store's register and bookings alongside your online store from the same dashboard, this setup is convenient for businesses that operate both physical and online stores.
Add a Wide Range of Payment Methods at Once
With STORES, you can add a wide range of payment methods at once, including:
- Credit cards
- Convenience store payments
- Bank transfers
- Rakuten Pay
- PayPal
- Pay later (Paidy and atone)
- Carrier billing
- Amazon Pay
- PayPay
- Cash on delivery
On the Free plan, the available payment methods are fixed, and cash on delivery is unavailable. On the Standard plan, you can choose which payment methods to display in your store and use cash on delivery. For convenience store payments and carrier billing, customers are charged a ¥300 fee.
Being able to manage major payment methods in one dashboard is one of STORES' advantages.
Create a professional-looking store easily with free templates
Image source: STORES
STORES offers design templates suited to a wide range of products, including fashion, accessories, and food. Every template is free to use.
You can customize the design templates freely with intuitive controls, making it easy to create a professional-looking store at no cost.
However, STORES does not support direct HTML or CSS editing, so detailed customization is limited.
Start running an online store without fixed costs
STORES has a Free plan with no setup or monthly fees.
Some features are restricted on the Free plan, but you can use the design templates and design editor freely. There is no limit on the number of items you can list. You can also use features that help attract customers and promote sales, such as coupons and email newsletters.
Sell digital content and electronic tickets
STORES also supports sales of digital content and electronic tickets. You can sell digital content, such as photos, videos, and music, as downloads. Electronic tickets are available on the Free plan as well, and buyers are charged a ticket issuance fee of 2% of the item price.
Some e-commerce platforms require an additional app to sell digital content. The ability to sell it alongside physical products as a standard feature is an advantage of STORES.
Disadvantages and considerations of using STORES
A major advantage of STORES is that you can start an online store with no fixed costs, but there are also some drawbacks.
No custom design changes through HTML or CSS editing
One strength of STORES is how easily you can edit your store's design using intuitive controls, but the range of edits and options is limited.
Because STORES does not support HTML or CSS editing, you cannot make detailed design changes. If you want your online store to reflect your brand's distinctive style, we recommend an e-commerce platform with more design flexibility.
Check integration options and API development requirements to expand functionality
STORES provides official integrations with accounting software and logistics services. You can also use its developer API to develop features such as inventory management and sales and purchase order management. To use the API integration feature, you must apply to become a development partner.
If you want to add initiatives such as loyalty points or LINE integration, check whether a suitable integration service is available or development is required. If you want to choose apps to add features, an e-commerce platform such as Shopify is another option.
Sales close at month-end and are paid out at the end of the following month
STORES closes sales at the end of each month and pays them out at the end of the following month. A ¥275 transfer fee applies to each payout, and if the payout amount is less than ¥10,000, the handling depends on your transfer setting. With the "Transfer at ¥10,000 or more (1万円以上で振込)" setting, the amount is carried over to a later month. With the "Transfer even under ¥10,000 (1万円未満でも振込)" setting, it is paid out at the end of the following month, with a ¥275 administrative fee in addition to the ¥275 transfer fee.
If you have to pay suppliers before receiving your sales proceeds, this schedule may put pressure on your cash flow. If you want to receive a payout sooner, you can use the paid option "Speed Cash (スピードキャッシュ)" (the Speed Cash fee is 1.5% on the Standard plan and 3.5% on the Free plan. Only this fee is waived for your first use; the usual payment processing and transfer fees still apply).
You cannot keep using a custom domain after leaving STORES
STORES obtains custom domains on behalf of merchants, so STORES owns any custom domain acquired through the service. If you leave STORES, you cannot transfer that domain to another service and continue using it.
If you may move to another e-commerce platform in the future, you will need to start your store with the expectation that its domain will change.
The Free plan has higher payment processing fees and fewer available features
The Free plan has no fixed costs, but its payment processing fee is 5.5% for credit cards (6.5% for some payment methods), which is 1.9 percentage points higher than on the Standard plan. Some features, including custom domains, cash on delivery, and delivery date selection, are also unavailable.
As your sales grow, consider switching to the Standard plan using the break-even point described in the pricing plans section as a guide.
Shopify is another option if you want to fine-tune your store's design or grow it by adding features through apps. Shopify is an e-commerce platform with over 1,200 design themes and apps for extending functionality. See below for details.
Main features of STORES
STORES includes the standard features needed to create, run, and improve an online store. Its main features are as follows.
- Customer acquisition and sales promotion: email newsletters, coupons, back-in-stock requests, reviews, subscription sales, pre-orders, download sales, and e-tickets
- Operations and management: bulk item registration, bulk inventory updates via CSV, shipping label CSV export, order CSV export, and customer management
- External integrations: Instagram sales integration, Google Analytics, accounting integrations with freee Accounting, Yayoi Accounting, and Money Forward, logistics integrations with OPENLOGI, LOGILESS, and others, and Next Engine integration
You can find a full list of features STORESon the official website's features page.
STORES support options
STORES offers two ways to contact support: by phone and through an online inquiry.
Online: Submit an inquiry through the contact form.Once you are using STORES, you can receive support by email or phone.
For first-time online store operators, being able to speak directly with someone by phone when they need help can be reassuring.
Examples of online stores using STORES
Here are examples of online stores that use STORES.
Kurashiki Coffee (倉式珈琲店)
Image source: Kurashiki Coffee Online Store (倉式珈琲オンラインストア)
Kurashiki Coffee (倉式珈琲店), which offers a warm café culture and high-quality coffee, launched an online store using a system it had developed in-house around the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. After encountering numerous operational challenges, it moved to STORES.
After the move, it became easier to run initiatives such as recurring sales and email newsletters, and monthly orders rose from a few dozen to a figure with more digits. In addition, repeat customers came to account for about 70% of online store buyers, among other significant changes.
intune vintage
Image source: intune vintage's STORE
intune vintage is a store selling unique vintage rugs and vases with a distinctive edge. It adopted STORES to keep the cost of running its online store low and has found it easy to use, including the ability to edit the design intuitively.
Kana Calligraphy Paper Specialty Shop Kokin (かな料紙専門店 こきん)
Image source: Kana Calligraphy Paper Specialty Shop Kokin (かな料紙専門店 こきん)
Kana Calligraphy Paper Specialty Shop Kokin (かな料紙専門店 こきん), which sells decorative paper for kana calligraphy, uses STORES both for its physical store's cash register and for its online store. Because it can manage inventory for its physical and online stores together, it has reduced the effort of maintaining inventory in two places while also reaching customers in other regions who cannot visit its physical store.
How to open an online store with STORES
Follow these steps to open an online store with STORES.
- Go to STORES and click "Create an account (アカウントを作成する)"
- Enter the required information, including your email address and password
- Complete email verification
- Enter your business information
- Select the services you want to use
- Enter details about your business
- Set your store name and ID
- Enter the notation under the Act on Specified Commercial Transactions (特商法の表示) to be displayed in your store
- Set the business operator's name and contact information
Once you have completed these steps, you can open your online store.
Summary: STORES suits businesses that want to run physical and online stores together
STORES is a useful service for creating and running an online store. All its design templates are free to use, and you can edit them using intuitive controls. With the Free plan, which has no setup or monthly fees, you can start a professional-looking online store easily at no cost.
However, STORES does not support HTML or CSS editing, so design changes are limited to what its editor allows. To expand functionality, check whether suitable integration services are available or API development is needed. STORES also closes sales at the end of each month and pays them out at the end of the following month, and you cannot keep using a custom domain after leaving the service.
If you want to run a physical and online store together or launch an online store at low cost, consider trying STORES.
