American Eagle Outfitters (AEO) will hold its Q1 2019 earnings report Wednesday, and investors are hoping the retail clothing outlet can build on a strong final quarter of 2018.

Last quarter, earnings at AEO’s ‘Aerie’ chain of lingerie stores continued to grow at breakneck speed (29%), far outpacing the growth rate of the original American Eagle stores (5%).

CivicScience’s data tracking favorability of American Eagle Outfitters and Aerie show a mixed bag for AEO from 2015 through the end of May this year. While negativity toward both brands continues to slide, favorability is ticking slightly downward over time, while neutral feelings climb. Women are slightly more enamored with American Eagle stores (27% favorable) than men (24% favorable).

When it comes to American Eagle’s favorite market, Gen Z, CivicScience is tracking similar trends to those among the overall population, albeit with a much higher favorability ratio overall among the under-25 crowd:

Things are a far cry now than they were in 2015 — in Q2 of that year, CivicScience saw AEO’s favorability dip into the negative before a long trend of steady improvement. Still, an 18% drop in Aerie favorability among Gen Z women and girls over the past two quarters is something to keep an eye on.

With antipathy toward each brand on the rise and favorability trending slightly downward among both Gen Z and the population at large since Q1 2017, American Eagle would do well to recapture shoppers’ attention while overall sentiment remains positive.

Instagram is by far the best place to reach Aerie shoppers, but Snapchat is not too far behind.

 

Our data show that sticking to a socially-conscious advertising theme — perhaps in the same vein as the current #AerieREAL effort — would sit well with Aerie’s best customers:

Need more? Click through the tabs of the chart below to discover some insights into American Eagle and Aerie shoppers in the realms of celeb favorability, CBD, and dining out.