I just read the quote in Forbes from your spokesperson, Dawn Bryant:
"We are going to continue to use the term holiday because there are several holidays throughout that time period, and we certainly need to be respectful of all of them," Bryant said.
Let's forget the Christian aspect for just a moment...this is a poor marketing strategy and bad business judgment.
Instead of endearing Best Buy to everyone, as a business should do, you dilute the message entirely and do not personalize it for anyone.
In today's digital world of variable data, personalization, and 1:1 marketing technolgies, using a static, generic message is just so 20th century and ineffective. There is no reason whatsoever that all religious messages cannot be included in your advertising.
From an economic perspective, if you surveyed your holiday shoppers, you will find that more than 80% of shoppers are purchasing items for Christmas, not for "the holidays". There are some basic rules of thumb to follow when you have such a dominant contribution to profits.
Last, we all know that Christmas shoppers contribute disproportionately (on the upside) to your annual profits. Seems to me that your organization is lacking in some basic marketing and economic analysis, along with a poor communication strategy.
Due to your removal of the word Christmas, for reasons that are clearly not sound business principles, I, along with many others already, and anyone else I can persuade in public forums, will not be shopping at Best Buy this Christmas.
Sincerely,
Good reply, NewLand. Enjoyed reading your homepage too.