The signs of summer are everywhere: steamy weather, packed beaches, and so many people enjoying the outdoors.
That's why many grocery shoppers are doing double-takes this week.
"I was shocked to learn that there's Halloween candy in August. It's a little early," shopper Jerry Saltzman said.
Fairway, for one, is proudly displaying Halloween goodies inside its outpost on West 125th Street in Manhattan.
Pumpkins, candy jars, and gooey marshmallow ghosts are among the treats.
(Some of the early Halloween candy on display at the West 125th Street Fairway. Amy Yensi/NY1.)
Some shoppers see them as a trick — a mind trick. "I'm not buying any and I noticed it last week when I came in. I was kind of shocked," shopper Susan Miller said. "I didn't understand what it's here for. I figured, I don't know, they got a shipment of something that was left over from last year."
Other grocery chains are also ushering in the fall before summer is not even half over, making them sweet targets on social media:
"Wait. We're having Christmas in July and they're selling Halloween candy? Is nothing sacred anymore?" one person tweeted.
But others are happy with Halloween creep. And to those that would rather wait until October to enjoy their Halloween candy, how about some Easter Bunny eggs in August?
(Yes, that's Easter candy on sale in August. Amy Yensi/NY1.)
NY1 asked the assistant manager of the Fairway, Solomon Juxon-Smith, about the Halloween display. He said in the 11 years he's worked here, it's the earliest the store has had it on sale. They were able to get a good deal, which is now being passed on to the customers.
"We have to be ahead of the season," Juxon-Smith said. "You bring it in early, it's selling already, the kids are getting excited, the moms and dads are picking it up."
But this shopper says, as long as it's summer, she won't melt at the sight of all those bags of Halloween candy stacked up in special displays:
"I see this at Rite Aid, CVS, all over the place. It's too much. And the kids are starting to want candy. Which is a good thing, but a bad thing. Nah," Hope Lee said, waving off the candy and walking away.
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