American Eagle is on the hunt for creators.
The Gen Z-focused retailer recently launched the AE Creator Community, a program aimed at opening up the floodgates of creators for American Eagle to promote the brand’s products. While American Eagle has worked with creators in the past, the new push is aimed at building longer-term relationships with creators and expanding the number of creators the brand works with.
Last year, American Eagle launched an affiliate program called Live Your Life that allowed creators to earn discounts and access to new products on top of receiving commissions. The new AE Creator Community is designed to expand that effort by gamifying the affiliate process for creators: In addition to earning a commission, creators earn points that can be redeemed for American Eagle gift cards and products in exchange for posting social content about the brand.
Creators can also earn points by completing monthly challenges. There are new features to the revamped program including a chatroom where American Eagle representatives can converse with creators.
For every 1,000 points, creators receive $1 in product from American Eagle. In one example, creators who posted a haul video showing all of the products they recently purchased received 1,500 points, Ashley Schapiro, American Eagle’s vp of marketing, media, performance and engagement, told ADWEEK. In another example, a Valentine’s Day-themed campaign asked creators to style date night outfits using denim.
To qualify for the program, creators need to live in the U.S., be 18 years or older, and have at least 1,000 followers on one social platform. If that barrier seems low, that’s the point, Schapiro said. The goal, she said, is to amass a large number of micro influencers as opposed to a smaller number of creators with large followings.
“This program really is focused on scale,” Schapiro said.
Affiliate marketing is big business for retailers driving ecommerce sales from creators and publishers. Affiliate marketing drove $210 billion in U.S. ecommerce sales in 2025, according to eMarketer.
Since launching the program on Feb. 2, 911 creators signed up to participate in the program, according to Schapiro. More than 200 of those creators migrated from American Eagle’s previous creator program.
