It’s how it used to be done.
Right until the 1980’s there was a store by my grandfathers in Lac La Nonne that operated like that.
https://i.pinimg.com/originals/4f/d0/38/4fd0381e0f8639fe159c6aaf2deb342a.jpg
That photo shows items already up front and does not show customer paying before seeing the merchandise.
