The holiday season is fast approaching. As shoppers flock to online stores in search of deals and gifts, ensuring that websites are accessible to everyone, including individuals with disabilities, is essential for an inclusive shopping experience.
There were more than 100 cases against the top 500 eCommerce retailers in 2023 and 82% of the top 500 eCommerce retailers received lawsuits in the last four years.
Accessible websites allow people who use screen readers, rely on keyboard navigation or require captioned video content to browse products, make purchases and participate in holiday shopping without barriers. And retailers who prioritize accessibility can reach a broader audience, improve customer satisfaction, and foster brand loyalty.
The state of digital accessibility
An accessible retail website provides an inclusive, efficient shopping experience that benefits both the business and its customers. It also satisfies legal requirements as governments around the world are increasingly requiring that retailers — and others — create accessible experiences for customers. For example, if you sell products in the EU, by June 2025, your organization must comply with the requirements of the European Accessibility Act.
A study from digital software company Acquia looked at how website users with disabilities view the state of digital accessibility and how their experiences impact brand reputation and loyalty.
The report found that nearly 90% of participants say they encounter accessibility issues that make it challenging to interact with websites or other digital experiences offered by brands, leading more than half (62%) to say that they would consider switching to a competitor with better accessibility features.
It also noted that brand reputation is negatively impacted when users encounter digital accessibility challenges with most respondents (71%) reporting frustration toward a brand while 58% say they feel disappointed and 24% feel angry. A little more than half of respondents say they would most likely seek alternative accessible options and 42% note that they would discontinue use of the brand’s services.
The survey participants’ experiences clearly show that more work needs to be done to improve digital accessibility, and that brands would find real bottom-line benefits for taking decisive action with more than 90% of consumers surveyed saying that it’s important that the brands they engage with prioritize digital accessibility.
Access tips
The good news is that there is always time for retailers to bring their websites up to speed.
Forrester research outlined a few steps for businesses to establish and scale accessibility practices, including:
- Identify issues. As a start, run popular and highly trafficked web pages through an accessibility testing tool that can identify accessibility issues such as images with missing alt text, poor color contrast, videos that lack captions and headings that aren’t properly tagged as headings in the code. It’s also a good idea to tab through the site to make sure pages and navigational menus can be accessed via the keyboard which is important for customers with mobility challenges and those who use assistive technologies such as screen readers.
- Address the problems. Work with digital designers and product teams to prioritize the issues identified through testing and create accessibility guidelines so that any new content added to the site is accessible.
- Plan for the future. Think about inclusive design on web pages from the start so that accessibility is at the forefront of everything you create and adopt an accessibility policy that satisfies established accessibility requirements (captions, transcripts, audio description) such as those outlined in the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG). An accessibility provider like Verbit can help companies of all sizes reach these access goals.
Partner with experts for better customer experiences
Enhancing website accessibility not only invites and caters to a larger audience of holiday shoppers but also offers a more ethical approach to business operations. For more information about how Verbit champions corporate accessibility year-round, reach out and connect with a member of our team.