Servicescape sacralization: recurring sacred ritual in a mall

Purpose This study aims to examine how recurring sacred ritual within a shopping mall reshapes consumer interpretations of a commercial servicescape after the temporary ritual environment has disappeared. Design/methodology/approach Using Glaserian grounded theory, this study draws on interviews with 50 worship attendees and 56 non-attending shoppers at a Bogotá mall hosting recurring pre-opening Catholic Eucharistic services. Data were analyzed through constant comparative procedures. Findings The analysis develops servicescape sacralization as a temporally enacted and participation-contingent process. Organizational authorization and theological portability enabled participation, while ritual recurrence and place–practice congruence reinforced sacralization over time. Attendees described temporal coupling of consumption, expanded place attachment, communal identification and moralized place perception. Non-attendees retained pragmatic commercial interpretations and demonstrated temporal adjacency tolerance. Research limitations/implications The single-site Catholic context limits transferability. Future research should examine other religious traditions, commercial environments and recurring community practices. Practical implications Recurring community-oriented programming may strengthen consumers’ attachment to commercial servicescapes without permanent architectural transformation, although awareness alone does not produce such meanings. Social implications Commercial environments may support community connection and spiritually meaningful participation beyond retail exchange. Originality/value This study introduces servicescape sacralization and identifies its enabling conditions, participation-contingent divergence, attendee developmental pathway and non-attendee boundary condition.