The holiday season is expected to bring in a staggering $1.05 trillion in sales this holiday season. It used to be that Black Friday was a key day for retailers to capture a significant chunk of these sales. But is the significance of Black Friday decreasing?

When it comes to holiday shopping madness, it would seem that the infamous Black Friday is no longer the headline event for many consumers. According to recent research conducted by the consultancy PwC, just 35 percent of consumers say that they plan to get the majority of their holiday shopping done on Black Friday. That's down from 59 percent in 2015 close to a 25 percent decline in just two years.

The main issue is that retailers are increasingly rolling out their biggest sales to consumers well before Black Friday to ensure they get to capture more of consumers holiday shopping dollars. For example, both Sears and Kmart inaugurated sales on November 1st that offered their loyalty members up to a 50 percent discount on all items in stores all the way through November 25. Walmart actually began rolling out its seasonal discounts for holiday shoppers in mid-November as did Target.

We're definitely seeing a decreased significance in Black Friday. Dawn Eber, a partner at PwC's US consumer markets risk assurance division, told USA Today earlier this month. "Consumers know when the sales are. They're becoming more adept at their online shopping and walking into the stores on that particular day doesn't bear as much of a return in terms of pricing, which still is the number one driver.

The bottom line? For many consumers out there, it is no longer necessary to hit the stores at 5 a.m. the day after Thanksgiving to score the best deals for the holiday. With that being said, however, it is unlikely to disappear completely, and the day does still have some fans. For many, it remains a fun social event with friends and a good way to kick off the holiday shopping season.