A new report has emerged, revealing a significant impact on American Eagle‘s stores following the controversy surrounding their jeans ad featuring Sydney Sweeney. The clothing retailer has reportedly suffered a considerable decrease in its foot traffic.
The controversial ad campaign launched in late July 2025, following which it was subjected to intense scrutiny. The ad received considerable criticism for its play on the words “jeans” and “genes.” Many accused the actress and the retailer of promoting eugenics and white supremacy via the wordplay.
How Sydney Sweeney’s controversy decreased footfall at American Eagle
Footfall traffic reportedly decreased by 9% year over year at American Eagle stores for the week starting August 3, 2025. This is the second week the apparel company has experienced traffic declines following the launch of the controversial Sydney Sweeney jeans ad campaign.
The report comes from Retail Brew, which had obtained the aforementioned data from the market intelligence website named Pass_by. According to the outlet, foot traffic for American Eagle decreased by 3.9% year over year for the first full week after the ad campaign’s launch on July 27, 2025.
Previously, in the two weeks before the ad campaign’s launch, footfall traffic had increased by 5.9% over last year in the week starting July 6 and 4.9% in the week starting July 13.
It’s currently unknown if American Eagle and Sydney Sweeney’s jeans ad controversy influenced the decline in footfall traffic. Moreover, the clothing brand has neither commented on the foot traffic data nor shared whether they have experienced an increase or decrease in traffic and sales following the campaign’s launch.
American Eagle’s competitors for younger clothing shoppers have also reportedly experienced drops in their foot traffic. However, the declines were not as big as the retailer’s 9% drop. Abercrombie & Fitch, for instance, saw a -3.3% traffic drop, while Gap experienced a -2.8% drop.
While many have criticized American Eagle and Sydney Sweeney’s jeans ad campaign for its alleged promotion of white supremacy and its eugenic undertones, it has found some staunch defenders. President Donald Trump shared on Truth Social that the advertisement was “the ‘HOTTEST’ ad out there.”
Meanwhile, Dr. Phil slammed critics of Sweeney’s ad and promised to support the actress and the brand by buying the jeans for female members of his family.
Originally reported by Abdul Azim Naushad on Mandatory.
