After Initial Frenzy, American Eagle Store Traffic Drops Amid Sydney Sweeney Backlash

American Eagle’s sexually charged ad campaign featuring ”Sydney Sweeney has great jeans” has triggered outrage among liberals across the Western world, furious that a beautiful young blonde is the face of the campaign instead of a “diverse,” morbidly obese man pretending to be a woman. 

How times have changed.

AE shares have added hundreds of millions in market cap since the ad debuted last week, with President Trump calling it “the hottest ad out there” and saying the jeans are “flying off the shelves.”

Google search trends reveal consumers are in a full-blown frenzy, desperately searching for “American Eagle store near me” in response to the viral ad. 

Recall the ad. 

Yea… American Eagle is about to go vertical.$AEOpic.twitter.com/MtKqVadMND

— Geiger Capital (@Geiger_Capital) July 23, 2025

However, AI-powered geospatial insights company Pass_By shows that nationwide foot traffic at American Eagle stores actually dropped after the ad campaign. 

Here are the details from Pass_By:

• Nationwide in-store visits fell -3.9% YoY for the week ending Aug. 2, marking the brand’s first significant dip after weeks of growth.

• The decline coincides with mounting online backlash over Sydney Sweeney’s political associations and her role in American Eagle’s ad campaign.

Sharpest drops seen in conservative regions:

• South: -9.25%

• Midwest: -2.37%

• West: -2.60%

• Northeast: +7.36% (only region with growth)

Foot traffic fell most among older demographics:

• Boomers: -6.50%

• Millennials: -5.04%

• Gen Z: -3.63%

• Silent Gen: -9.87%

“This dip comes after several weeks of strong in-store performance. The sharpest declines were seen among older shoppers and in more conservative U.S. regions, suggesting that the controversy may be having a real effect on store visits,” the geospatial insights company wrote in a report. 

“It’s rare to see a sudden, sharp drop like this after months of steady growth,” said James Ewen, VP Marketing at Pass_By, adding, ”When retail foot traffic patterns break trend so quickly, it’s usually cultural, this suggests the Sweeney controversy may be resonating beyond social media and into real-world consumer behavior.”