Sleepwear has emerged as one of Aerie’s most meaningful growth drivers as the broader apparel market remains uneven. For the third quarter, American Eagle Outfitters reported record revenue of $1.36 billion, up 6% year over year, with comparable sales up 4% overall. Aerie significantly outperformed the group, delivering 11% comparable sales growth, driven by strength across categories including intimates, apparel, Offline activewear and sleep. The core American Eagle brand had 1% comparable growth. On the December 2 earnings call, leadership repeatedly pointed to sleep as a standout category, highlighting its role in driving both customer acquisition and overall brand momentum.
That strength has continued into the fourth quarter. On the call, CFO Mike Mathias said Aerie comps are expected to land in the high teens, helping support raised guidance for the quarter. Jennifer Foyle, president and executive creative director of American Eagle and Aerie, said the brand’s performance reflected “strength across all categories, including intimates, apparel, sleep and Offline,” adding that sleep “has emerged as a powerful growth category” and “is proving to be a year-round business for us.”
Aerie’s gains come as more brands lean into the growing business of matching pajamas — particularly around the holidays, with coordinated sets being a gifting staple and a reliable source of social engagement. The difference, AE executives suggest, is that Aerie has been able to turn that seasonal demand into sustained volume.
“Aerie’s success in sleepwear comes from listening to our community and putting comfort first, which has always been at the heart of our brand,” stated Stacey McCormick, CMO at Aerie, in an email. “We focus on soft, easy fabrics, like Real Soft, cozy textures and the softest brushed flannels, paired with comfortable, flattering fits.”
Real Soft is Aerie’s proprietary fabric franchise, designed to feel lightweight and broken-in from the first wear while holding up to repeated washing — a fabric story the brand has scaled across categories, including sleep. Price has also been a competitive advantage. Aerie’s pajamas typically retail from about $25 for separates to $70 for full sets, undercutting many specialty and DTC competitors while maintaining an elevated look and feel.
The category’s appeal has been amplified by the way younger consumers style the pieces. According to the brand, Aerie’s sleepwear increasingly functions as loungewear for Gen Z and Gen Alpha, who wear pajama tops with hoodies, joggers or wide-leg jeans, blurring the line between at-home dressing and everyday outfits — a styling approach that has helped the category feel culturally relevant rather than purely functional.
“The future of sleepwear goes far beyond what you wear to bed,” Foyle told Glossy. “We’re seeing our community embrace sleepwear as part of their overall lifestyle, from self-care rituals to everyday style.”
Social media has played a role in driving that visibility. The brand said its striped and bear-print pajama sets have performed particularly well on TikTok, while novelty prints across sleep have repeatedly gone viral. A recent Real Soft gingerbread print sold out within three weeks of its October drop. Influencers have helped reinforce the category’s reach beyond the bedroom — for example, Brooks Nader, who has 1.8 million followers on Instagram, has worn Aerie’s pajama sets in social posts, which the brand said were not gifted. Sleepwear is promoted through Aerie’s owned channels — including on-site merchandising and organic social content — with additional visibility from user-generated content and organic influencer wear. The brand integrates sleepwear into its core marketing, rather than breaking out focused marketing campaigns.
“Our marketing strategy centers on authenticity, community and meeting our customers where they are,” McCormick said. “PJs and sleepwear have been a key category in our business for the last 20 years.”
“The buzz around sleepwear has been especially exciting,” Foyle said. “We’ve doubled the number of customers buying sleep from Aerie year over year, and our expanded assortment is bringing in a lot of first-time shoppers who are discovering the brand through this category.”
Product strategy has been central to sustaining that demand. “Today, it is all about the set and the playful ways you can wear it,” McCormick said. “We have adapted by expanding our sleep assortment to include more matching sets with multiple pieces, like bralettes and boyshorts.” She added that Aerie has introduced “textures like waffle knits and ribbed fabrics, as well as elevated silhouettes such as button-front tops and wide-leg pants that transition effortlessly from home to going out.”
Looking ahead, leadership sees further runway. “PJ’s and sleepwear are a growth area for us, and we plan to expand the assortment across all channels,” Foyle said. “Our core focus remains on delivering real comfort, along with the fun style and versatility our customer needs for every part of their life.”
