The months on this calendar are ranked by how deep running-shoe promo codes actually run — the share of stores SimplyCodes tracked in each month whose deepest code took 25% off or deeper, pooled across every year on record and re-measured daily. It reads the discount climate across running-shoe brands and the retailers that sell them rather than the price of a single model, since a brand store's code usually applies across its whole catalog.
December is the best month to buy running shoes with a promo code. Across every year SimplyCodes has tracked, 48.4% of running shoes stores running a percentage-off code in December had one at 25% off or deeper — the highest share of any month, and 21.5 points above the weakest month (April, 26.9%). Figures cover 710 store-months across the running-shoe brands and retailers SimplyCodes tracks — each store counted once for every month it ran a percentage-off code — as of September 2, 2026.
- December is the strongest month for running shoes discounts — 48.4% of the running shoes stores SimplyCodes tracked had a code 25% off or deeper that month, across 64 store-months measured.
- November is the runner-up at 40.0% — worth knowing if you miss December, and the reason this calendar is worth reading past its headline.
- April is the weakest month at 26.9% — a 21.5-point gap from December. Buying running shoes in April means shopping the year's thinnest discount pool.
Browse every verified running shoe promo code on SimplyCodes — the full catalog behind this calendar.
Deep-discount share = the share of that month's running shoes stores whose deepest percentage-off code was 25% off or more · bar = that share relative to the strongest month · store-months = the denominator behind each share, one per store per month it ran a percentage-off code · — = fewer than 3 retailers contributed that month, so no share publishes · free ship / free gift = at least one such offer verified in that month.
All years on record of running shoes verification data across the running-shoe brands and retailers SimplyCodes tracks, counted once per store per month and grouped by calendar month · snapshot as of September 2, 2026
Frequently asked questions
When is the best time to buy running shoes?
The calendar above names the strongest month, its share of deep-discounting stores, and the date the snapshot was taken. Pooled across every year on record, the late-year window carries the highest share of deep-discounting running-shoe stores and the late-winter and mid-spring months carry the lowest, so a pair bought in February comes out of the year's thinnest code pool.
What month are running shoes cheapest?
This study ranks months by how many stores ran a deep code, which is not the same as a cheapest-price ranking. Two things move a running shoe's price that no code can show: the model changeover, when last year's version drops to clearance at its own pace per brand, and retailer-specific markdowns that need no code at all. The calendar tells you when the code window is widest across the whole set of sellers: the brands Nike, Adidas, HOKA, Brooks Running, ASICS, On Running, Saucony, New Balance, Under Armour, Altra, Topo Athletic and Salomon, the specialists Road Runner Sports, Running Warehouse, Fleet Feet and Holabird Sports, and the general sellers runners buy from, Zappos, REI and Dick's Sporting Goods.
Does the model changeover beat waiting for a holiday sale?
They are different mechanisms and they do not fire on the same schedule. A changeover discount is specific to one shoe and one brand, and it lands whenever that brand ships its next version. The code window on this calendar is market-wide and repeats by season. If you already know the exact model you want, the changeover usually wins. If you are open on the model, buy in the deeper code months the calendar names.
Does a deep running-shoe discount mean the code will work at checkout?
They are separate questions. Depth is how much a code takes off, and reliability is whether it still applies at checkout — the Health Score (SimplyCodes' 0–100 measure of how likely a code is to work at checkout) on each code covers the second one. This calendar reads depth only, and each brand's or retailer's own SimplyCodes page carries its current working codes.
Methodology
How SimplyCodes verifies codes. Behind every figure in this live data study is the SimplyCodes verification system. Coupon codes are tested at real checkout before they are listed, through three independent layers: daily automated testing, where headless browsers run through real checkout flows and record whether a discount actually applies. A human verification network of 10,000+ verifiers submits screenshot-and-timestamp proof. And a real-time fleet signal, where live checkout outcomes feed back into the engine. The calendar below summarizes that verification history month by month.
How this calendar is built. we take every store among the running-shoe brands and retailers SimplyCodes tracks and record, for each calendar month that store ran a percentage-off code, the deepest discount it offered that month — so "December" means every December on record, not one year's. For each month we report the share of those stores whose deepest code reached 25% off or more, alongside the number of store-months behind the share. This measures how many stores discount deeply in a given month, not how many individual codes did. Only percentage-off codes are counted, because fixed-amount offers are not comparable across price points. Percentage claims of 95% or more are excluded as implausible. And a month contributed by fewer than 3 retailers publishes no share at all
Cite this data
December is the best month to buy running shoes with a promo code: 48.4% of running shoes stores SimplyCodes tracks had a code 25% off or deeper in December, 21.5 points above the weakest month (April).
According to SimplyCodes verification data, December carries the deepest running shoes discounts of any month — 48.4% of tracked running shoes stores had a code 25% off or deeper, versus 26.9% in April.
