QR & Barcode Scanner opportunity in Japan
Japan — Utilities, for consumers. Niche: QR & Barcode Scanner.
Data from the week of 19 Oct 2026, refreshed every two weeks.
Our call
We have not checked this against App Store search in Japan yet, so we won’t call it. Checks run every day, highest-scoring openings first.
At a glance
- Demand
- High, in your favour
- 1,194,944 ratings
- Revenue
- Low, against you
- No chart revenue
- Competition
- Medium, neither for nor against you
- 3 established in Japan
- Leading apps
- Fair, neither for nor against you
- 4.3★ average
How the score of 45 is made
score out of 100
- Demand94
1,179,001 ratings in the US and UK, 15,943 in Japan
- Revenue0
0 of the top 10 on a top-grossing chart in the last 30 days; 0 paid
- Room locally64
3 established apps in Japan (75+ ratings, scaled to the market’s size)
- Language gap0
Not checked in local search yet — counted as neutral (50) at most
- Incumbent weakness47
4.3 stars on average; 7 of 10 not updated in a year
- AI gap30
10 of the top 10 not built around AI
- Momentum—
History building since 19 Oct 2026 — counted as neutral (50) for now
Why this is an opening
70% of the top apps in Japan are stale. There are 7 stale apps among the top 10 results. Demand remains high at 94.
What people in Japan see
Not yet checked against local App Store search. Checks run every day, highest-scoring openings first.
How strong the competition is
The leading apps in this niche
The niche’s apps available in Japan, ranked by their share of ratings here and in the United States and United Kingdom; stars in Japan where it has them.
| App | Ratings in Japan | Ratings US + UK | Stars | Japanese | Last update | AI |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| QR Code & Barcode Scanner ・ | 8,722 | 129,301 | 4.4 | Yes | Feb 2023 | No AI |
| Simple QR/Barcode Reader | 6,890 | 293 | 4.3 | Yes | Jan 2024 | No AI |
| QR-kod och streckkod | 319 | 0 | 3.7 | Yes | Oct 2026 | AI feature |
See all competitors, complaint themes and history.Get 30 days — €19 →
Is demand growing
New ratings each week in Japan, added up over the leading apps. A rating count only grows, so a week’s rise is the people who rated that week.
- Last 4 weeks
- 4 weeks before
- Earlier
Members see the weekly trend.
Show as a table
| Week | New ratings |
|---|---|
| Members | — |
What users complain about
Too few low-star reviews to group into complaints yet.
If you build it
The smallest app that answers what users complain about and what the leaders leave out. Each feature says where it comes from.
- What apps here chargethe leading apps' in-app prices, once we have read themMembers
See what is here.Get 30 days — €19 →
What would kill this
Up to three things that would end this opening, each tied to the data.Get 30 days — €19 →
The same niche in other markets
- This market
- Other markets
✓ checked against local App Store search. Other markets are named for members.
Show as a table
| Market | Score | Checked against local search |
|---|---|---|
| Members | 54 | Yes |
| Members | 53 | Not yet |
| Members | 52 | Not yet |
| Members | 51 | Not yet |
| Members | 50 | Not yet |
| Members | 50 | Not yet |
| Members | 50 | Not yet |
| Members | 47 | Not yet |
| Japan | 45 | Not yet |
| Members | 41 | Yes |
| Members | 41 | Yes |
| Members | 41 | Yes |
| Members | 40 | Yes |
| Members | 40 | Yes |
| Members | 40 | Yes |
| Members | 39 | Yes |
| Members | 38 | Yes |
| Members | 38 | Yes |
| Members | 37 | Yes |
| Members | 37 | Yes |
| Members | 36 | Yes |
| Members | 35 | Yes |
| Members | 34 | Yes |
| Members | 33 | Yes |
See which markets score what.Get 30 days — €19 →
Scored 2026-10-26 with score version 4. How the score works. Store data only: we do not estimate revenue or downloads.