What is CODE
CODE is a shopping app and proprietary purchase-data platform with approximately 3.6 million registered users in Japan. It turns everyday receipts and product barcodes into an item-level view of what consumers across the country actually buy, use, and think — across every retailer they shop.
Because the data is collected directly from shoppers rather than from a single retailer’s POS, CODE offers a cross-retailer, consumer-centric window into the Japanese market — and a direct line to verified purchasers for surveys, interviews, and shopper marketing.
How CODE Works
CODE users scan the barcode of each product they buy. To keep logging engaging, every scan earns points and a chance to win in an in-app sweepstakes — a gamified mechanic that encourages users to record their purchases consistently, even on large shopping trips. The result is continuous, high-frequency purchase data captured straight from consumers.
Built for Complete, Real-World Capture
Item-Level Scanning
Purchases are recorded barcode by barcode — not just as receipt totals — for a precise, SKU-level view of the basket.
Cross-Retailer Tracking
Each consumer’s purchases are tracked across all the stores they visit, revealing where and how shopping is split between chains and channels.
Beyond the Barcode
Fresh and in-store items without a standard barcode are captured through a user-generated product master, extending coverage to categories conventional scan data often misses.
The Data We Capture
Every purchase logged in CODE can come with far more than a transaction record — including the shopper’s own rating and review of the product.
What CODE Records
Purchase Logs
What, where, when, and how much — at the individual item level, across retailers and channels.
Product Reviews & Ratings
Star ratings, reasons for purchase, and free-text feedback submitted by buyers in the app — voice-of-the-consumer insight without fielding a separate survey.
Consumer Attributes
Demographics such as gender, age, and area, enabling segmentation and target-group analysis.
Services Powered by CODE
Because CODE connects directly to verified purchasers, it powers a suite of services that spans data, research, and shopper marketing — all anchored in real purchase behaviour.
Purchase Data
- BI Dashboards (KaiLog View)
- Purchase data and customer reviews delivered through ready-made templates — category trends, buyer demographics, channel and chain breakdowns, and best-seller and review rankings — refreshed as new data comes in.
- Market & Competitor Analysis (KaiLog Retail)
- Analyse purchases down to competitor-store and product level, with trade-area and competing-chain views built for retailers and manufacturer sales teams.
Purchaser Surveys
- Rapid Purchaser Surveys (Instant QA)
- Trigger a survey the moment a target product is scanned, reaching real buyers within minutes of purchase — ideal for new-product, competitor, and shelf-appeal research while the experience is still fresh.
- Past-Purchaser Research
- Identify and survey confirmed buyers — of your own products, the category, or competitors — by their purchase history, including segments such as repeat buyers and heavy users.
Online Interviews
- Interviews with Verified Buyers (KaiLog Talk)
- Recruit genuine purchasers from their shopping logs for online interviews — reaching everyday consumers who are hard to reach through conventional recruiting, including parents of young children and residents of remote areas. A self-service option is available for faster, lower-cost fielding.
Shopper Marketing
- In-App Targeted Ads (Scan Ads)
- Deliver targeted messages at the moment a consumer scans a product — at home or in store — to build awareness and prompt brand choice close to the point of purchase. Campaigns can be targeted by product or category and measured against actual purchase behaviour.
- Sampling & Promotions
- Run cross-retailer sampling, coupons, and sweepstakes using receipts and barcodes as proof of purchase, then verify the impact through CODE’s purchase data.
Why CODE
Real Purchasers
Reach and analyse people who have genuinely bought a product — verified through receipts and barcodes, not claimed recall.
Cross-Retailer View
See how each shopper splits spend across chains and channels, for true category and competitor understanding.
Data + Voice Together
Combine item-level purchase logs with in-app ratings and reviews — the “what” and the “why” in one source.
Speed to Insight
Survey buyers within minutes of purchase and act on continuously updated data, not one-off snapshots.
