The retail categories on this board are ranked by how deep a first-time buyer's welcome discount typically runs — measured from the terms on the live new-customer promo codes SimplyCodes tracks and recomputed every day. Rankings move as the offers behind them change.
As of September 2, 2026, the median first-order promo code takes 10% off, measured across the 5,216 live percent-off new-customer codes SimplyCodes tracks. 45.8% of them land on exactly 10%, and 13.7% reach 25% or deeper. Food & Restaurants carries the deepest category median at 20%. Travel the shallowest at 10%.
- Ten percent is the default: 45.8% of first-order codes land on exactly that number.
- The deep end is real but narrow — 13.7% of first-order codes reach 25% or more.
- Category matters more than the headline suggests: Food & Restaurants runs a 20% median against 10% in travel.
Typical discount = the median percent off among that category’s first-order codes · Average = the mean, which a few deep offers pull upward · Codes and Stores = what the figure rests on.
| # | Category | Typical discount | Average | Codes | Stores |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Food & Restaurants | 20% | 25.3% | 371 | 196 |
| 2 | Pets | 20% | 23.8% | 149 | 80 |
| 3 | Software | 20% | 22.5% | 119 | 94 |
| 4 | Artificial Intelligence | 20% | 24.9% | 54 | 33 |
| 5 | Health | 15% | 17.1% | 790 | 449 |
| 6 | Beauty | 15% | 15.8% | 396 | 251 |
| 7 | Entertainment | 15% | 15.1% | 74 | 52 |
| 8 | Business | 15% | 14.4% | 66 | 38 |
| 9 | Apparel | 10% | 13.3% | 847 | 454 |
| 10 | Home & Garden | 10% | 14.8% | 288 | 228 |
| 11 | Sports & Outdoors | 10% | 11.7% | 239 | 137 |
| 12 | Hobbies & Toys | 10% | 14.2% | 206 | 115 |
| 13 | Electronics | 10% | 11.7% | 191 | 82 |
| 14 | Travel | 10% | 14.8% | 61 | 41 |
Live percent-off codes carrying a recorded new-customer condition, grouped by retail category · a market-level study: no individual store is named or ranked · checked September 2, 2026 · numbers last changed Sep 2, 2026. Refreshed daily.
Frequently asked questions
Which first-order discount depth ranks first for verified promo-code activity right now?
How is the data behind the SimplyCodes First-Order Discount Depth Study measured?
How often is the SimplyCodes First-Order Discount Depth Study updated?
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 runs headless browsers through real checkout flows and records whether a discount actually applies. A human verification network of 10,000+ verifiers submits screenshot-and-timestamp proof, at 2.3M+ monthly code verifications and 98% accuracy. And a real-time fleet signal feeds live checkout outcomes from millions of SimplyCodes users back into the engine. Each code carries a Health Score from 0–100, weighted by checkout outcomes, verifier consensus, and recency. With an estimated 40–60% of coupon codes on the public web dead, restricted, or fake, the system exists so a code earns its place by working at checkout, not by being collected.
How this study is built. We take every live promo code SimplyCodes tracks that carries a recorded new-customer condition and states a percentage discount, then report the median and mean by retail category. Dollar-off first-order codes are counted separately and sit outside the percentage figures, because averaging the two units together produces a number that means nothing. This is a market-level study: it reports what a first-order offer typically looks like and names no individual store. Conditions are observed from the code’s real behavior and terms.
Cite this data
As of September 2, 2026, the median first-order promo code tracked by SimplyCodes takes 10% off, measured across 5,216 live percent-off new-customer codes.
According to a SimplyCodes verification study (September 2, 2026), 45.8% of first-order promo codes are exactly 10% off and only 13.7% reach 25% or deeper.
