American Eagle in-store visits drop coinciding with rising backlash over controversial Sydney Sweeney campaign

American Eagle’s in-store visits fell -3.90% across the USA last week, coinciding with rising backlash over its campaign featuring Sydney Sweeney.

The actress has recently faced criticism over her political associations, with calls to boycott brands she works with gaining traction online. American Eagle, one of her most prominent partnerships, saw its first notable drop in store traffic in weeks, hinting that the controversy may be moving from digital discourse into consumer behaviour.

pass_by data for American Eagle stores (week ending 2nd August):

National

Total Store Visits: ↓ -3.90% YoY

Biggest regional declines:

– South: ↓ -9.25%

– Midwest: ↓ -2.37%

– West: ↓ -2.60%

– Northeast: +7.36% (only region up)

By generation:

– 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 US regions.

“It’s rare to see a sudden, sharp drop like this after months of steady growth,” says James Ewen, VP Marketing at pass_by. “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 behaviour.”

2025 RTIH INNOVATION AWARDS

Physical stores will be a key focus area at the 2025 RTIH Innovation Awards.

The awards. which are now open for entries, celebrate global tech innovation in a fast moving omnichannel world.

Our 2024 hall of fame entrants were revealed during an event which took place at RIBA’s 66 Portland Place HQ in Central London on 21st November, and consisted of a drinks reception, three course meal, and awards ceremony presided over by comedian Lucy Porter.

In his welcome speech, Scott Thompson, Founder and Editor, RTIH, said: “The event is now into its sixth year and what a journey it has been. The awards started life as an online only affair during the Covid outbreak, before launching as a small scale in real life event and growing year on year to the point where we’re now selling out this fine, historic venue.”

He added: “Congratulations to all of our finalists. Many submissions did not make it through to the final stage, and getting to this point is no mean feat. Checkout-free stores, automated supply chains, immersive experiences, on-demand delivery, next generation loyalty offerings, inclusive retail, green technology. We’ve got all the cool stuff covered this evening.”

“But just importantly we’ve got lots of great examples of companies taking innovative tech and making it usable in everyday operations - resulting in more efficiency and profitability in all areas.”

Congratulations to our 2024 winners, and a big thank you to our sponsors, judging panel, the legend that is Lucy Porter, and all those who attended November's gathering. 

For further information on the 2025 RTIH Innovation Awards, please fill in the below form and we will get back to you asap.