The Cathedral of Consumption of the American Girl Doll

In an era of hyperconsumption, the capitalist society has moved from a focus on the

relations of production to the relations of consumption. These means of consumption relate to the

objects that shape consumption, and marketing and advertising experiences structure these forms

of consumption as well as manipulate consumer thinking. This begs the question: do we

consume for our own good or for the good of the manufacturers? Are we actually rationally

thinking about our purchases or are we psychologically tricked to convince ourselves of their

rationalization? George Ritzer coined the term “cathedrals of consumption” to refer to

commercial displays meant to inspire awe, wonder, and enchantment in the consumer--shopping

centers, casinos, and stadiums are a few examples of these cathedrals. To attract consumers,

cathedrals of consumption are highly rationalized, yet the challenge facing today’s cathedrals of

consumption is how to maintain the enchantment in the face of increasing rationalization (Ritzer

2010, 8). The rationalization of the new means of consumption involves an increased focus on

efficiency, calculability, as well as predictability. A large driver of the enchantment element of

the “cathedrals of consumption” is the “experience economy” wherein products and services are

evaluated based on the memorable experiences they provide the consumer (Pine 2011). The

cathedrals emphasize how settings are characterized by the enchantment method needed to lure

in customers, however, disenchantment is also an ever-present possibility as a result of the

process of rationalization. Overall, rationalization, enchantment as well as disenchantment are

fundamental to the conception of the “cathedrals of consumption.”

The American Girl Doll franchise is just one example of the “experience economy” and

the supremacy of brand personality marketing appealing to young consumers. Currently, the

American Girl brand is an over $436 million empire that sells books, dolls, doll clothing, and

accessories, as well as immersive retail and catalog environments, such as the American Girl

Doll Place in New York City (Diamond 2009). With both an “American Girl magazine” and

flagship historical line featuring 11 characters and stories over decades, the company markets to

young girls and parents “who want to raise their girls with confidence and character”

(AmericanGirl). The company states the following mission: “We help girls discover their sense

of self with timeless stories” and characters who instill values like “honesty, courage, kindness,

and compassion” (AmericanGirl). The range of products creates brand activation that generates

customer interest by allowing consumers to “experience” the products and resonate with

different dolls’ backstories. Thereafter, the customer connects the value given to the brand to

their own identity and is left with a strong impression as well as attachment to the brand (Belk

1988). Applying Belk’s theory of the “extended self,” the possession of the American Girl Doll

acts as a symbolic extended self that consumers believe mirrors who they are and simultaneously

creates a sense of wish-fulfillment of owning a culturally-recognizable toy. Owning an American

Girl doll, with its high price tag and cachet of enhanced class, is something that many consumers

seek to publicize with their recognizable large red bags. Related to Simon’s “sliding scale”

concept, the consumer of the American Girl Doll franchise determines the product’s worth based

on their particular desires or “needs” and how much the product fits their needs, which can

include individuality, belonging, or social standing (Simon 2011, 6). As a result of the high

desire for “wish fulfillment,” the consumer then “gives up” the priority of other attributes in the

product such as the “utility” and instead focuses on the emotional connection. More specifically,

the American Girl Doll Place fulfills these wishes through rationalization and enchantment

forces that simultaneously create a “cathedral of consumption.”

The New York City “American Girl Place” allows for an impressive experience that

forms a successful “brand land” attracting customers from all over the world. The flagship brand

store is a prime example of “theming” and the way in which consumers not only want to

purchase products, but go to experience the brand, company, and the products in action. The

store creates feelings of joy and thrill, and unifies the American Girl theme through interactive

experiences like a doll hair salon, cafe, theatre, gathering spaces, and more. These positive

impressions are also harmonized with positive cues found in customer experiences with store

staff (Ritzer 2010). In addition, another important factor in “theming” is how the store engages

all five senses and forms its own unique servicescape that makes the customer feel as though

there is no place else that can replicate this immersive experience. The strong servicescape

experience encompasses not only environmental dimensions and use of space but most

importantly, the symbols and artifacts of each individual American Girl Doll and accessories

ranging from pajamas to bunk beds costing upwards of $160 dollars (Bitner 1992). This “new

retail” form has emerged to offer consumers a combination of entertainment and brand

experience, and the ambient conditions of the American Girl store solidify this personalized

connection between the customer and the brand (Bitner). Gathering spaces like the salon and

cafe encourage an interactive experience while giving the same enchanting services to both the

customer and their doll, thus strengthening the brand relationship. In addition, the “Just Like

You” doll line offers girls a chance to customize the skin, hair color, and eyes of their dollars to

match their own (Borghini 370). Above all, what makes the American Girl Doll Place attractive

to young consumers is how it is a “humanized retail space” transformed into a consumer destination; a location transformed through emotional connections giving a “sense of comfort,

familiarity, and insideness” (365).

The American Girl Doll Place demonstrates how a memorable physical experience

through the salon, restaurant, museum cases and more, can create a “brandscape” that transcends

current conceptualizations of brand extensions and strong feelings of enchantment. This

cathedral of consumption provides a sense of community and shared “consumer religion,” and in

order to maintain this enchantment, American Girl integrates the act of “theming.” Theming is a

particular motif carried throughout a cathedral of consumption, and in this case, the story of

girlhood and heroic femininity. (Ritzer 2010, 111). The American Girl Doll Place not only

themes the overall consumer experience, but it mixes in the diverse array of American Girl doll

memorabilia, books, and exclusive accessories and experiences not available through an

e-commerce experience (Gottdiener 2019). The staff members assisting customers help enforce

the “pseudo world” of the American Girl doll being considered a human itself with their own

backstories, leading customers to rationalize their high price point for services and accessories.

Many photo-op backgrounds are stationed around the store as a means of providing additional

memorabilia to customers to create brand loyalty and further promote the brand over social

media. At the theater and cafe, cultural biographies of the dolls are reinforced, and little girls are

given conversation starter cards with a script to get to know their family members, thus evoking

family identity (Diamond 2009, 126). As a result, going to the American Doll cafe becomes of

family value as a memorable experience.

Aside from enchantment, the American Girl Doll has many behind-the-scenes

“rationalization” forces that make the brand production process seamless and increase the

appearance of the “cathedral.” Usually, enchantment tends to decline over time as the novelty

wears off, however, the American Girl store inspires brand loyalty and rationalization to continue

consuming due to the ease of “one-stop shopping.” As part of this rationalization process,

efficiency, calculability, and predictability are needed to continue a successful immersive

experience. Because consumers have a wide range of concerns and items “needed” for their doll,

the American Girl Doll Place uses efficiency to answer all of these potential needs with its mass

customization features and personalized services like the “Doll Hospital” (AmericanGirl). In

addition, American Girl uses calculability through its mass production of high-quality,

high-priced dolls with the same facial and body structure, but different customizable features in a

small range of hair/eye/skin color selections. By offering a wide range of goods and services in

this one setting, consumers rationalize their experience to visit the store while simultaneously

indulging in materialism (Ritzer 2010, 35). Lastly, predictability is demonstrated through the

replicated displays and sections of the American Girl Doll Place stores and magazines across the

nation, and across publications. Each consumer expects the original historical dolls with their

storybooks, as well as the cafe, theater, and accessories for any playset experience imaginable. In

addition, being an avid follower of the American Girl social media or catalogs, also enhancing a

sense of extended self, further contributes to the feeling of predictability and comfort in knowing

the retail options in the store. Outside of rationalization, the biggest goal of the American Girl

Doll Place’s experiential marketing is the idea that the glamorized store is one-of-a-kind and

offers high-quality doll products, even if the dolls are actually mass-produced and have product

replacements. American Girl remains an enchanted franchise due to the way it has kept human

connections close to its mission rather than using non-human technology in its stores.

All in all, the factors that contribute to the enchantment of The American Girl Doll

franchise seem to outweigh the forces of rationalization. The high-quality product itself

contributes to the magical sensation, and the customer-staff interactions within the store provide

a sense of mystery, even with mundane tasks like hair-cutting and doll-mending (Ritzer 2010).

The American Girl Doll’s child audience is another important component contributing to its

market value. The brand encourages the “nag factor” of children who pester their parents

effectively to buy products after they are bombarded with marketers’ brand messaging. American

Girl uses its American Girl Doll Place stores to create a consistent themed immersive

environment and enclosure layouts that separate the outside world and create a new American

Girl world that parallels features of reality. This franchise uses not only the memorability of

experience but also the heroic journey of its dolls’ historical backstories to create a personal

attachment and brand loyalty with its consumer. American Girl branding and the American Girl

Place stores establish a system of enchanted settings across the nation. Even with underlying

rationalization forces, the idea of phantasmagoria creates a feeling of exciting people’s wildest

fantasies while aligning with their values and continuing the successful hyperconsumption of this

“cathedral of consumption.”

Works Cited

AmericanGirl. 2021. “Our Company.” Our Company - About American Girl | American Girl.

https://www.americangirl.com/shop/ag/our-company.

Borghini, Stefania, Nina Diamond, Robert V. Kozinets, Mary Ann McGrath, Albert M. Muñiz,

and John F. Sherry. 2009. “Why Are Themed Brandstores so Powerful? Retail Brand

Ideology at American Girl Place.” Journal of Retailing 85 (3): 363–75.

doi:10.1016/j.jretai.2009.05.003.

Belk, Russell W. “Possessions and the Extended Self.” Journal of Consumer Research, vol. 15,

no. 2, 1988, p. 139., doi:10.1086/209154.

Bitner, M. 1992. “Servicescapes: The Impact of Physical Surroundings on Customers and

Employees.” Journal of Marketing, 56(2).

Diamond, Nina, John F. Sherry, Albert M. Muñiz, Mary Ann McGrath, Robert V. Kozinets, and

Stefania Borghini. 2009. “American Girl and the Brand Gestalt: Closing the Loop on

Sociocultural Branding Research.” Journal of Marketing 73 (3): 118–34.

doi:10.1509/jmkg.73.3.118.

Gottdiener, Mark. 2019. “The Theming of America.” doi:10.4324/9780429315268.

Pine, B. Joseph, and James H. Gilmore. 2011. The Experience Economy. Boston, MA: Harvard

Business Review Press.

Ritzer, George. 2010. Enchanting a Disenchanted World: Continuity and Change in the

Cathedrals of Consumption. Pine Forge Press. 3rd edition.

Simon, Bryant. Everything but the Coffee: Learning about America from Starbucks. Univ of

California Pr, 2011.