NATICK – Remember the days when hundreds would line up outside a Circuit City, fighting to be first in line for a discounted TV?

Black Friday doesn’t look like it used to. In fact, the sales holidays – Black Friday, Small Business Saturday and Cyber ​​Monday – are starting to mix.

“Black Friday begins a week before Thanksgiving,” retail expert John Eagles of Retail Consulting Group told WBZ. “Cyber ​​Monday begins a week before Thanksgiving. If you go to Amazon, you’ll see both logos on all different products.”

Buyers have noticed it too. “It was Cyber ​​Monday before it was Monday, and it was Black Friday before Friday,” noted Ashely Rinaldi of Boston, who was doing some returns at Natick Mall on Cyber ​​Monday.

Experts say retailers and consumers have become smarter

Retail expert John Eagles says the combination of sales holidays is a reflection of how smart both retailers and consumers have become.

“Retailers are getting smarter about how they market and promote their products,” Eagles explained. “You know, they don’t say, you know, 50% off storewide. They are much more selective about what they offer and shop accordingly.”

There is no sign that shopping activity has slowed

Despite the combination of the various sales holidays, Eagles says there is no sign that shopping activity has slowed. In the Northeast, in-person shopping fell about 1.9%. Adobe Analytics estimates Americans spent $10.8 billion nationwide on Black Friday this year.

Eagles estimates that online shopping will offset the slight decline in in-person shopping. In fact, he reflected, there are several reasons why people come to malls these days — and it’s usually not for sales.

“If you look at a lot of interviews that were done with consumers on Black Friday, they talked about Black Friday being the event,” he said. “It’s a shopping experience, but it’s an event to be with people, family and friends, and a tradition.”