It even recognises parking lines, doesn't have to be against a wall. If you are in a car park with the line behind you even when there is no car there, it recognises that you are going to want to go forward. I rarely have to shift on any drive except when reversing into a car park at the very end of the drive.
The cost saving factor is definitely a big thing, and it's the reason many manufacturers have toyed with removing stalks, just none of them have been game enough to do it on any significant production models. Definitely expect them to start appearing more and more in the coming years though, especially when the Model Y, the worlds best selling vehicle, has it in the Juniper.
Saving a few cents is a massive win for car manufacturers, saving process time is also a massive win. Removing stalks is a very significant saving in dollars and complexity, so it's something that manufacturers will jump on.