Food for thought

USD 8 trillion disposable income in the hands of disabled people and their families, but can they really shop on your online store? Research has demonstrated that none of the world’s top 50 websites meet the digital accessibility guidelines with more than one billion people, or 15% of the global population, reporting a disability affecting their ability to navigate websites.

BarrierBreak provides comprehensive retail accessibility testing solution that evaluates your business needs. Ensure your e-commerce websites & mobile applications conform to WCAG 2.0 & WCAG 2.1, and are Section 508 and ADA compliant. We also help you to create VPAT for your products and services to make it more attractive to government buyers and win more RFPs.

Retail trivia

Online shopping, also known as e-commerce, allows customers to buy goods and services directly from sellers on the website. It allows you to shop from the comfort of your home, at any time of day and any day of the year. On the other hand, sellers sell their products, regardless of whether the product is luxurious or meets the needs of the customer, on such portals. It can be difficult for people with disabilities to know what the product contains.

In 2018, consumers around the world spent a total of $2.8 trillion on online retail sales, a figure that could rise to $4.8 trillion in 2021. If you don’t consider the impact of online retail accessibility or web accessibility on your e-commerce revenue margins, you’re giving away a slice of the pie to retailers who make online retail accessibility their priority.

Let’s dive deeper

The Covid-19 pandemic has accelerated a shift towards online shopping especially for people with disabilities which requires the focus to shift towards digital accessibility.

Customers with a disability encounter many barriers when navigating retail websites. Despite the need to access digital content, most retailers do not see where their access problems lie.

Many of these obstacles are minor inconveniences, but others make navigating the site difficult or impossible without help. While online shopping has its own advantages, accessibility barriers on many e-commerce websites, makes it difficult for people with disabilities enjoy the same experience as everyone else.

The Compound Effect

Companies that prioritize e-commerce accessibility during the pandemic are more likely to see their websites prioritized by Google than by their competitors.

• E-commerce accessibility leads to the removal of barriers to online shopping for people with disabilities and enhances overall user-experience. Customers make their purchases in the traditional way by viewing what the product looks like and reading the description, and when the e-commerce website is accessible, everyone has access to similar information regardless of their disability but can also make their purchase with confidence.
• The accessibility of your online retail shop will bring you more customers than any other sector of the economy, which is reason enough for you to take an action now! Improving the accessibility of websites is a tangible improvement that thousands, even millions, of people will notice. Improving websites that facilitate access to essential goods for people with disabilities during quarantine can have an immediate positive impact on businesses.  
• Another reason to ensure an accessible e-commerce website is legal requirement. From 2017 to 2018, web accessibility lawsuits and litigations rose by 181 percent. If there are any inaccessible sections on your website, it can be deemed discriminatory against persons with disabilities, which violates the accessibility standards and guidelines such as Section 508, WCAG and ADA.

As online retailers are a for-profit business and disabled and elderly people are targeted markets, it is vital that they work hard to make their websites accessible to this demographic.

Why Online Retail or E-commerce accessibility is important?

Here’s what G3ICT has to say, “Committing to inclusive design not only makes a retailer’s website accessible to customers with disabilities, but also creates a shopping environment that is easier for all customers to use. Streamlined designs load quicker.”

Our team of highly experienced accessibility testing team at BarrierBreak which include testers with disabilities, ensures accessible e-commerce website. We ensure that your retail website is in compliance with the American with Disabilities Act (ADA) in accordance with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG ). Write to sales@barrierbreak.com to help us support you.

The post Why Online Retail should focus on Digital Accessibility? appeared first on Leader in Offshore Accessibility Testing | Section 508 Compliance | WCAG Conformance | BarrierBreak.

When a consumer comes to a store’s website, he expects much of the same in-store experience translated into a digital format. As more and more consumers are turning to online shopping,  a vast number of shoppers which include people with disabilities are continuing to be left out of this lifestyle. 

To accommodate this huge ignored market of consumers with disabilities, it has become essential for ecommerce to go beyond aesthetically pleasing websites and provide an accessible driven online shopping experience to its customers.

Why implement accessibility in your online shopping experiences: 

1. Imagine going to a store and not being able to see the different products that the store has to offer! You will just walk away from that store to another store. Similarly, most of the people with disabilities, if not able to navigate through your pages, will abandon your website and look out for website that offers a more inclusive user experience.
2. If a potential buyer does not have a clear understanding of your product, they will not buy it. It is as simple as this. Adding alternate text or alternate description to the product is a feasible solution, but a person with visual impairment may require a lot more information related to the overall look and feel of the products. Generic descriptions about your product may not be just enough for a person with visual impairment or a person using a screen reader. Check out this blog on Image Description – An Integral part of Content Accessibility
3. Accessible online shopping website influences business and professional communication. Integrating accessibility criteria creates a shopping environment that is easier and comfortable for every potential customers regardless of their disabilities.

The ultimate goal of every e-commerce site should be to enhance the buying experience and find ways that can make every customer visiting your website more likely to buy from you. Having an accessible website based on the needs of buyers with disabilities, enhances the overall shopping experience for your customers.

At BarrierBreak, we recommend certain FREE tools to test your website for accessibility. 

In addition, If you need support to get your website tested for accessibility, drop a line to us at sales@barrierbreak.com and we will be happy to connect. 

The post Why MUST you Implement Accessibility in your Online Shopping Experiences? appeared first on Leader in Offshore Accessibility Testing | Section 508 Compliance | WCAG Conformance | BarrierBreak.