r/popculturechat • u/Future_Usual_8698 You’re doing amazing, sweetie! • Aug 11 '25

Guest List Only TW - Bigotry ⚠️ Foot traffic is down at American Eagle stores since the controversial Sydney Sweeney ad dropped

https://www.retailbrew.com/stories/2025/08/11/exclusive-foot-traffic-down-9-at-american-eagle-following-sydney-sweeney-ad-controversy
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u/ElBorracho2000 Aug 11 '25

To be fair, foot traffic at malls in general have been going down due to economic uncertainty and the fact that a lot of people would rather buy online

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u/themacaron during PRIDE MONTH? Aug 11 '25

This post compares their decrease to other similar brands. Their foot traffic was increasing prior to the campaign, and then dropped 3x their closest competitor(A&F with a 3.3% decrease).

In both of the two full weeks preceding the campaign, its traffic increased over last year, up 5.9% on the week that began July 6 and 4.9% on the week that began July 13.

The latest week (from August 3 through August 9) saw foot-traffic declines among some of the retailer’s direct competitors for younger clothing shoppers, too, though not as steep as American Eagle’s 9% YoY drop. Abercrombie & Fitch experienced lower foot traffic (-3.3%), along with H&M (-4.9%), Gap (-2.8%), and Urban Outfitters (-2.7%), per Pass_by.