Approximately 15% of the world’s population — which equates to about 1 billion people — lives with disabilities, according to the World Health Organization, and the Center for Disease Control indicates that 61 million of those adults are in the U.S. This makes people with disabilities the world’s largest minority and, ultimately, a significant cohort for brands and retailers.
Often, disabilities are invisible to outsiders but have a significant impact on individuals’ daily lives: 5.9% of people are deaf or have serious difficulty hearing, while 4.6% have a vision disability, with 1 in 12 men and 1 in 200 women being colorblind. There also are various other disabilities to consider that create cognitive, ambulatory, independent living and even self-care difficulties.
Despite this commonality, many ecommerce sites are not designed to meet the unique needs and requirements of these consumers. The Drum went as far as to say that ecommerce is “failing disabled people.” But now more than ever, brands and retailers have a significant opportunity to differentiate, and lead the overall industry, by creating highly inclusive and accessible digital experiences.
There is a common misconception that digital accessibility is merely a feel-good concept tied to broader diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) efforts. However, accessibility can unlock significant short-term and long-term value for your business, including improved CX for all consumers, increased sales and improved brand reputation and loyalty.
What Exactly is ‘Digital Accessibility’?
“Digital accessibility” means that websites and all of their associated tools and technologies are designed and developed so that people, no matter their abilities, can use them. However, 98% of websites don’t meet basic accessibility needs, according to WebAim. To create democratized online shopping experiences, brands and retailers need to ensure all key components are accessible, including:
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- Web content, which includes text, images, forms and multimedia as well as any markup code, scripts and applications;
- User agents likedesktop graphical browsers, voice browsers, mobile phone browsers, multimedia players, plug-ins and other assistive technologies; and
- Authoring tools, which are software and services people use to produce and launch their web content, such as content management systems (CMS), document conversion tools and more.
The ‘POUR’ Principal
The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) provide four principles to help organizations assess site accessibility and identify critical areas of improvement. Some people refer to these principles collectively by the acronym “POUR,” indicating that accessible sites are:
- Perceivable: Accessible sites allow users to perceive content using at least one of their senses. For example, someone who is blind can easily access a screen reader to consume all content on a site;
- Operable: People can use all interactive elements, no matter how they decide to engage with a site;
- Understandable: People can easily navigate a site and interact with all key elements. For instance, it should be easy to click to product pages, navigate through content and complete a purchase; and
- Robust: All consumers should be able to access a site and its core capabilities using any device or assistive technology.
The CX Connection: Ecommerce for All
Investing in accessibility is good for you and for your customers. But we’re not just talking about the millions of consumers living with disabilities around the world. Consider the sheer volume of consumers who have difficulty navigating or consuming website content due to their personal needs and preferences.
While Codemantra found that 69% of people with disabilities will abandon a website if they encounter accessibility barriers, research from Storyblok reveals that nearly as many consumers (60%) have abandoned purchases due to a poor website user experience, ultimately costing ecommerce companies billions in revenue.
A 2023 survey of 1,000 product and technical decision-makers within U.S. businesses only magnifies the revenue impact of digital and web accessibility efforts. A staggering 87% of executives said digital accessibility improved user experiences. While a significant number of respondents said their efforts improved long-term, strategic areas like customer satisfaction (81%) and overall brand reputation (79%), many respondents also were able to connect their accessibility investments to firm, quantifiable results, including improved customer acquisition (70%) and retention (68%), as well as increased revenue (61%).
For example, Payoneer wanted to level up its ecommerce site to support all visitors. Although the company had an expansive translation strategy for site content, it was not designed to serve people using assistive technologies. Now, the company has an Accessibility Widget that is visible as soon as the page fully loads, eliminating the need for users to provide disability information before they can customize their experiences. By making this change, Payoneer has empowered site visitors to start focusing on initiating and completing transactions and managing their funds, leading to an improved user experience and higher customer satisfaction.
“The UserWay widget was simple to install and was instantly visible on the Payoneer website,” said Etay Sade, Web Team Leader for Payoneer. “We’ve been extremely impressed by its ability to correct accessibility violations and how it could be customized to match our brand without any effort.”
Maintaining Compliance with New Regulations
Designing experiences that align to the distinct wants, needs and expectations of your customers is central to the principles of good retailing. Accessibility is a critical piece of that puzzle. However, when merchants don’t design and assess their ecommerce sites with accessibility in mind, there are some clear compliance risks, especially as new global laws and regulations are implemented to ensure both public and private organizations design inclusive experiences for all.
In the U.S., the Department of Justice recently published its Americans with Disabilities Act Title II Regulations, which now require companies to have accessible websites. And for businesses in the EU, the European Accessibility Act (EAA) will take effect in 2025 to create common rules on accessibility in the EU. Although the EAA hasn’t been fully implemented just yet, member states already have developed their own accessibility regulations in support of these efforts.
Any business with an online presence needs to ensure it’s doing its due diligence to maintain compliance, especially if it wants to do business, and even serve, state and local governments.
Making the Move Toward Digital Accessibility
Digital accessibility isn’t a task you simply check off one time; it is something that should be embedded into your broader ecommerce business strategy. You must consistently research, assess and improve your ecommerce experience to comply with ever-evolving regulations and new accessibility standards.
This may feel overwhelming, but the good news is digital accessibility isn’t achievable only for large organizations — even the smallest of merchants can ensure their sites are optimized for this critical community of shoppers so they can maximize customer reach, sentiment and revenue results. As Glynnis Ritchie, Principal Designer at Flagrant, poignantly wrote for Retail TouchPoints: “Accessibility is a win for all involved, especially, and most importantly, people with disabilities. Keep it in the forefront of your mind, use it as a pillar of your culture, and make it a year-round commitment. You’ll be doing good, and it’ll certainly be good for your business.”
Brands should look for solutions that can help them track and comply with the latest accessibility guidelines, best practices and requirements, such as widgets that can fix code behind the scenes and enable personalization. For example, UserWay’s AI-powered Pro Widget gives users a customizable experience based on their chosen disability profile without asking for their personal information. The company also offers legal guidance to help clients with legal demand letters and 24/7 technical support.
The world of retail is more vibrant when all can be involved and actively participate. When commerce experiences are designed to be seamless, personalized and accessible, commerce will always take place.
