This is very common in the US. The biggest issue isn't feeling shameful or shy, it's that employees will take 30+ minutes to help you. Sometimes it's basically impossible to find assistance. This definitely harms younger people more than couples. A teenager isn't going to go through all of that trouble, especially if they're nervous already. Same goes for a young girl there by herself during a pregnancy scare.

That is strange. Is it a high theft location? Is everything else locked up? Condoms should be on the bottom of the list of things you need to secure. In a place where the condoms are behind glass, I’d expect the Tide to be in a vault and the Electronics to be offsite.