2025 Digital Accessibility Index
Retail
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Accessibility barriers lead to lost customers & missed revenue
Retailers are spending more than ever on tools to drive sales and lower customer acquisition costs, yet far too many are discounting the value of reaching people with disabilities.
Along with friends and family, people with disabilities control $13 trillion in disposable income — and they tend to be loyal customers.
“Word of mouth is the cheapest form of advertising, and people with disabilities can have some of the loudest voices when we find [companies] willing to make the effort,” said Maxwell Ivey, a member of AudioEye’s A11iance community of disabled testers. “Because it’s that sincere effort over time that really counts with us.”
Unfortunately, retail sites tend to be some of the least accessible across all industries, with some of the highest failure rates for multiple WCAG criteria. On average, retail sites have the second-most inaccessible images per page — a significant barrier to access for disabled shoppers.
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Bar chart representing Violations per page (WCAG 1.1.1: Non text Content). Retail Is highlighted as the second highest industry with 14 issues.
“I've told companies, 'We are consumers, too. We have money.'”
— Empish Thomas, AudioEye A11iance Member | AudioEye
INDUSTRY COMPARISON
Where do retail websites fall short?
We scanned 85,966 pages across 2,543 retail websites, focusing on key areas like product pages, checkout forms, and order summaries.
Overall, retail sites had the highest number of issues per page (350.1) of any industry — struggling with fundamental accessibility challenges like color contrast, image alternative text, and descriptive links.
Inaccessible product photos can hinder purchase decisions
75% of online shoppers rely on product photos to help them make a purchase decision, yet retail sites had the second-most inaccessible images per page (14.0) of any industry — making it harder for non-sighted shoppers to browse products.
Poor color contrast can make key information hard to read
The average retail page had 73 unique page elements (such as buttons, links, form labels, or text fields) that failed to meet WCAG’s minimum requirements for color contrast — making it difficult for shoppers with low vision to navigate pages, read product descriptions, or fill out forms.
Keyboard barriers add friction to online shopping
Retail websites had an average of 9.5 keyboard accessibility violations per page — making it harder for blind and mobility-impaired shoppers to navigate between pages, add items to their cart, or finish checking out.
Vague links can slow down site navigation and product searches
The average retail page had 8 inaccessible links, which can make it difficult for shoppers to navigate between pages — disrupting the buying journey and potentially impacting sales.
Inaccessible forms can disrupt checkout and account management
Retail websites had one of the highest rates of inaccessible forms and input fields, with an average of 11.5 inaccessible input elements per page. When checkout and account management forms aren’t properly labeled, people with visual disabilities may not know what information to enter into each field.
“It’s genuinely disheartening. And it’s way too common. I could not tell you how many times I’ve been unable to access my cart, fill out my shipping information, or solve the CAPTCHA.”
— Chris Preiman | Internet Security Professional
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INFOGRAPHIC
Digital Accessibility for Retail Brands
Get the latest insights into the accessibility of e-commerce sites.
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