‘Tis the season for accessible websites to boost your clients’ sales
The holidays are the season for giving, but it’s also the season for shopping
According to our research, people with disabilities in the US are planning to spend over $22bn in online gift shopping this holiday season. Your e-commerce clients need websites that are accessible for consumers with disabilities to capitalize on the immense sales benefits not just during the holidays, but all year round.
To understand the spending habits and needs of the disability communities during the gifting season, accessiBe collaborated with Open Inclusion on valuable research that surveyed 1,008 people with disabilities across the US With the following information, your clients can see why making their website accessible to people with disabilities is essential during the holidays, and how they can improve their websites in time to include everyone in holiday-shopping fun.
Rockin’ around the survey data
The spending power of the disability communities is seen in full force during the online gift shopping season, as they put on their consumer hats along with everyone else. From the survey respondents who live with varying disabilities, you can see just how crucial accessibility is for your e-commerce clients.
Consumers with disabilities are givers too
Our new research shows that web accessibility barriers can cost US businesses up to $8bn in holiday revenue. But, by making your clients’ websites accessible, you can save on these costs and ensure that consumers with disabilities can browse and make purchases with greater ease. As an inclusive brand, your clients will also be more likely to expand their customer base during this pivotal time of year. This means an increase in sales and a new sense of loyalty among their consumers that will return year after year.
Have yourself an accessible shopping experience
The digital experience of your clients’ websites will have a large impact on whether a consumer with a disability will follow through with a purchase. To know how to create an accessible shopping experience on your clients’ websites, you first need to grasp the pain points that prevent people with disabilities from turning into online consumers. Our research shows where people with disabilities encounter shopping barriers on inaccessible websites:
- 20% had issues creating an account or logging in to the e-comm website
- 39% could not find the information they needed about a product or service
- 38% had problems with online purchasing and couldn’t contact customer service for help
- 28% could not interact with the website to select the items that they wanted
- 25% had issues with checking out and completing the payment process
Jingle every way
Every individual consumer with a disability has their own needs that need to be met when purchasing gifts on your clients’ websites. Beginning with the UX of the websites is key, where clickable buttons, readable text, customer service prompts, and clear headings and page structure come in. Adjusting their websites with these accessibility features improves the overall user experience for all and that leads to increased revenue and conversation rates from the disability communities.
Here is some data that backs the need for UX that includes people with disabilities.
Low vision and the blind community
Our research found that the blind and low-vision community will spend close to $8bn on gifts this holiday season. More than half of these consumers have experienced disabilities buying gifts online, with 31% noting specific accessibility issues during the checkout process. But this issue can be rectified on your end and when it is, 60% of consumers with low vision or visual disabilities are likely to return to an accessible website in the future. If you and your clients actively work to include the Blind and low-vision community during holiday shopping, they’ll come back throughout the rest of the year.
People with autism
1 in 5 people with autism say they will abandon a gift purchase on your clients’ websites if they experience a web accessibility issue. Web accessibility is essential so that everyone can buy gifts successfully, but it’s also a necessity so that your clients can engage with consumers with autism, building loyalty and expanding their customer base.
People with ADHD
ADHD, as common as it is, is overlooked by many e-commerce businesses. But, you and your clients shouldn’t make that mistake. 52% of our survey respondents with ADHD struggle at least some of the time when buying gifts online, and 60% of respondents with ADHD said they are likely to return to websites that provide a positive experience. This means that there’s a big chance that this large community could become an integral part of your growing customer base if only you remember to include them this holiday season with UX designed to reduce distraction and confusing elements.
Make your clients’ websites sleigh
Whether you utilize an automated accessibility solution or build websites to be natively accessible, the result is a more navigable user experience for everyone and the inclusion of consumers with disabilities.
So, how do you offer web accessibility to your clients? You can opt for an AI-powered solution like accessiBe’s accessWidget, which allows users to customize accessibility settings to fit their specific needs, without any changes to the original code or UX. Solutions like accessWidget also make sure that your clients’ websites are compatible with assistive technologies and comply with accessibility legislation. Or, you can always rely on a solution that enables you to design an accessible website from the ground up. accessFlow, accessiBe’s all-in-one platform that tests, monitors, and remediates the accessibility of websites, can help you by using AI to guide the process of integrating accessibility features at the source code level.
Give your clients the gift of digital inclusion
Want to give your clients an extra holiday gift? Below you can download four digital accessibility checklists that will help you and your clients become more inclusive online beyond the holidays:
- Accessible Social Media Post Checklist
- Adding Alt Text Checklist
- Accessible Email Checklist
- Accessible Virtual Meeting Checklist
An accessible and inclusive website that’s offered just in time for the holiday season is a win-win-win for everyone involved. Your clients can turn a profit during the biggest sales days of the year, your agency gains a competitive edge by offering web accessibility and promoting inclusion, and most importantly, consumers with disabilities are able to buy gifts for the holidays. With an accessible e-commerce website, we can all spread holiday joy.