It’s much more convenient to buy from Amazon than to try to find someone to unlock a glass case at the pharmacy. Especially since any pharmacy with glass cases for basic items will also be understaffed.
A few of my visits to this hardware store have been... memorable!
(1) locate the aisle with the item I want to verify it is still in stock
(2) spend 5 minutes wandering around the isles looking for a free attendant
(3) give up, press the 'service' button
(4) wait at the service desk for another 5 minutes until an attendant arrives to unlock the cage and hand me my $10 item
(5) have attendant inform me that he must immediately frogmarch me to the nearest self-checkout station, even though I had further items I wanted to buy. Otherwise, I would have a chance to secret the $10 item in my pocket, or to dash for the door?
(6) self-checkout and walk through the parking lot to place the item in my vehicle
(7) walk back to the store to buy my other items
(8) realize one of my other items is also locked in a cage
(9) got back to step (1) and repeat for a second item
I realize, as I type this, that the store has turned into the American equivalent of the British 'catalog merchant' except, in the UK, a catalog store gives you a numbered ticket, so the customer has, at least, a streamlined procedure and knows what to expect.
