Black Friday and Cyber Monday are just around the corner. Is your eCommerce website prepared for a wave of holiday shoppers with disabilities?
In 2018, the National Retail Foundation reported that 4 out of 10 consumers would start shopping as early as November 1st, and 55% of their purchases would be made online. These number of online shoppers increased 40% from the previous year, and 2019 is likely to continue on this upward trend.
While most businesses prepare by improving their security and site performance measures, if your site or app isn’t accessible to people with disabilities, you could be missing out on a significant market share or be at risk for legal complaints.
Capture a huge, overlooked market share
Approximately one in five people in the United States, or 64 million, have a disability.
The total after-tax disposable income for working-age people with disabilities is approximately $490 billion. For comparison, African Americans’ disposable income is $501 billion and for people of Hispanic origin, it is $582 billion.
In 2018, an estimated 165.8 million consumers shopped between Thanksgiving Day and Cyber Monday. So if we do the math, approximately 33.16 million (1 out of 5) consumers on Thanksgiving Day and Cyber Monday could be shoppers with disabilities. Furthermore, studies have shown that two-thirds of people with disabilities will abandon a website if it is inaccessible. However they don’t abandon the purchase – they simply buy from your competitor.
Not only does having an accessible website boost earning potential for your organization, but it improves your organization’s brand value. Younger consumers whose buying decisions are influenced by social justice will be less likely to trust your brand if your site is inaccessible. In fact, 9 out of 10 blind internet users are vocal anti-advocates for inaccessible companies.
It is important to note that mobile accessibility is also crucial for gaining people with disabilities as potential customers, as two-thirds of Thanksgiving weekend shoppers turned to their mobile devices to research and purchase holiday items.
Survey research data collected by the Rehabilitation Engineering Research Center for Wireless Technologies (Wireless RERC) indicate that 84% of people with disabilities own or use a cellphone or smartphone. When including tablets, that statistic raises the wireless device ownership rate for people with disabilities to 91%.
Avoid a costly complaint or lawsuit
If your site is inaccessible, you’re not only missing out on a huge, overlooked market, but you’re potentially at risk for a legal complaint or lawsuit. In fact, ADA Web Accessibility-Related Lawsuits exploded 181% – from 2017 (814) to 2018 (2285).
Real-world numbers from an accessibility-related lawsuit show that legal fees (not including settlement fees) alone could cost you more than $350,000…
| Aktion | Teilnehmer | Stunden/Teilnehmer | Gesamtstunden | Zusätzliche Kosten |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Anwälte beauftragt, Unternehmen benachrichtigt | 8 | 2 | 16 | $3,600.00 |
| Honorarvereinbarung für externe Rechtsberater (Kostenvoranschlag) | – | – | – | $150,000.00 |
| Erste Mitteilung an die Beteiligten | 45 | 2 | 90 | $20,250.00 |
| Bearbeitung von Rückstellungsaufträgen | 45 | 3 | 135 | $30,375.00 |
| Unterlagen externer Rechtsberater | 8 | 8 | 64 | $14,400.00 |
| Erste Beweisaufnahme (auf Anordnung des Richters) | 10 | 24 | 240 | $54,000.00 |
| Statusbesprechungen | 7 | 10 | 70 | $15,750.00 |
| Vorbereitende Anhörung zur Feststellung des Verfahrensstands | 6 | 5 | 30 | $6,750.00 |
| Vorbereitung auf Verhandlungen | 6 | 5 | 30 | $6,750.00 |
| Verhandlung | 3 | 3 | 9 | $2,025.00 |
| Entwurf einer Vergleichsvereinbarung | 5 | 5 | 25 | $5,625.00 |
| Prüfung des Vergleichsentwurfs | 10 | 4 | 40 | $9,000.00 |
| Abschluss der Abrechnung | 5 | 2 | 10 | $2,250.00 |
| Abrechnungsabwicklung | 3 | 2 | 6 | $1,350.00 |
| Ältere Version beibehalten | 45 | 2 | 90 | $20,250.00 |
| Projekt, Datei, Dokumentation schließen | 8 | 8 | 64 | $14,400.00 |
| Gesamtsumme der Rechtsstreitigkeiten | $356,775.00 |
*A blended rate of $250/hour utilized in calculations.
Furthermore, accessibility complaints from unhappy customers can result in approximately $994,950 annually. Please see below for my calculations based on experience as a founder and owner of the Digital Accessibility Program Office for a Fortune 50 Insurance Company:
| Aktion | Teilnehmer | Stunden/Teilnehmer | Gesamtstunden | Erweiterte Kosten |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CSO/E-Mail/Chat-Empfangsbestätigung | 1 | .75 | .75 | $90.00 |
| CSO/E-Mail/Chat – Anpassungen | 2 | .75 | 1.5 | $180.00 |
| Dokumentation des Problems | 1 | .75 | .75 | $90.00 |
| Bearbeitung von Anliegen | 1 | 1.5 | 1.5 | $180.00 |
| Projekt zur Behebung von Spool-Up-Problemen | 5 | 4.5 | 22.5 | $2,700.00 |
| Design | 1 | 4.5 | 4.5 | $540.00 |
| Code | 1 | 9 | 9 | $1,080.00 |
| QA | 1 | 7.5 | 7.5 | $900.00 |
| Produktionsausgabe | 5 | 4.5 | 22.5 | $2,700.00 |
| Projekt „Spool Down“ | 5 | 2.5 | 12.5 | $1,500.00 |
| Kundenbetreuung | 1 | .75 | .75 | $90.00 |
| Gesamtsumme der Beschwerden | $10,050.00 |
A blended rate of $120/hour utilized in calculations.
| Faktoren | Berechnungen |
|---|---|
| Skalierungsfaktor bei Konstruktions- und Produktionsfehlern | 100X |
| Proaktive Festlegung der Kosten in der Planungsphase | $100.50 |
| Kosten für reaktive Reparaturen in der Produktion | $9,949.50 |
| 100 Beschwerden pro Jahr, die in der Postproduktion behoben werden müssen, könnten Kosten verursachen | $994,950.00 |
Unter Bezugnahme auf frühere IBM-Studien können die Kosten für die Behebung eines Fehlers in der Produktion bis zu 100-mal höher sein als die Kosten für dessen Behebung bereits in der Konstruktions- oder Entwicklungsphase.
Unsere geschätzten Kosten für die Maßnahmen belaufen sich auf 10.050 $. Bei Anwendung dieses Skalierungsfaktors hätte die Behebung dieses Fehlers in der frühen Entwurfs- oder Entwicklungsphase lediglich 100,50 $ gekostet. Zieht man die Kosten für die proaktive Behebung von den Gesamtkosten für die reaktive Behebung ab, ergibt sich ein Verlust von 9.949,50 $.
Selbst wenn Ihr Unternehmen nur 10 Beschwerden pro Jahr erhält, bedeutet das einen Verlust von etwa 100.000 Dollar. Angesichts von Umfrage- und Forschungsergebnissen, wonach Menschen mit Sehbehinderungen etwa einmal pro Woche Callcenter für Serviceanfragen und Beschwerden nutzen, sind 100 Beschwerden pro Jahr durchaus vorstellbar.
Nächste Schritte
If your website is inaccessible, not only are you at risk for costly complaints or lawsuits, but you’re also missing out on a huge, overlooked market for your business. You can use the statistics above to make the business, fiscal, and legal case for your organization to invest in accessibility before holiday shopping begins. Below are a few simple steps your organization can take to start with accessibility:
- Start simple with free, open-source automated testing tools, such as axe. Such tools can catch between 30-50% of accessibility issues. Axe is also available as a browser extension for Chrome and Firefox, and there are axe tools for testing Android applications and iOS (coming soon).
- Contact us for consultation regarding other services, training, or tools that could help your organization on its accessibility journey.
