Analysis and discussion of issues that impact business

I don't know about you, but if someone offers me a holiday greeting that I don't personally subscribe to, I still consider the sentiment a positive event. That philosophy will be tested this season.

It is beginning to look a lot more like Christmas at Wal-Mart.

This holiday season, Wal-Mart isn’t trumpeting big bargains only. It’s also bringing “Christmas” back into its marketing, after several years of playing down the term.

Here's hoping that the holidays are a time of "Peace on earth, goodwill to men".

This move probably makes good business sense, seeing that the majority of shoppers celebrate Christmas in one form or another.

Wal-Mart Stores Inc.’s Christmas cheer seems to be a hot trend this season as several other retailers including Kohl’s Corp. and Macy’s, a division of Federated Department Stores Inc., are also stepping up their Christmas marketing. The moves respond to mounting criticism from religious groups that staged boycotts against Wal-Mart and other merchants after they eliminated or de-emphasized “Christmas” in their advertising.

Looks like market forces are at work again. Last year Target got a lot of heat for not allowing the Salvation Army bell ringers access to their stores. So far, consumer reaction hasn't brought about a policy change for them. But it's early yet.

Macy’s is adding Christmas signage in all of its department stores and Kohl’s is playing up Christmas this year in its TV, print and radio advertising, according to Vicki Shamion, a Kohl’s spokeswoman.

But, the trend isn't sweeping up all retailers in its wake.

“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,” said Dawn Bryant, a spokeswoman at Best Buy Co. Inc., whose advertising omits any reference to Christmas.

So, it's probably not a huge issue, but from a business standpoint, it will be interesting to follow.