Here there are like 10 self-checkouts per 1 employee and they’re just there if the machine gets confused about a weight. It’s much better, and faster than waiting in the queue for a manned checkout. I can’t imagine wanting to go backward, where’s the benefit?
Unfortunately it’s zoning that caused most of this issue. Not size. Dense residential was disallowed for not entirely un-racist reasons, so it spread out enormously instead. On top of car companies lobbying in various ways to make cars essential.