The prices you’re paying for your purchases are lower across the board because they don’t have to pay for as many cashiers.

In theory yes. But that’s not going to be universal for every product. Not every product can become a “loss leader”. So to a degree it depends on the individual shopper.

I should warn you, those stores are probably more expensive to shop at.

While that’s true, you have to admit that stores with zero checkout automation also likely lack the buying power to purchase in bulk like the large retailers who can afford checkout automation.

My philosophy with grocery shopping is I want it to be done asap. IMO self-checkout isn’t inherently faster than cashiers. It’s arrangement of single queues leading to multiple registers that speeds up the lines.

Additionally, I prefer to bag my own groceries so that I know the fragile items won’t be damaged getting them home.