Accessible E-commerce: How to Welcome Every Shopper
When you finish this article, you’ll know what web accessibility means, why it’s critical for your online store, the barriers that keep shoppers from checking out, and a clear path to making every page usable. You’ll also see why skipping this work puts you at legal and financial risk—and how to turn inclusion into growth.
What Is Web Accessibility?
Web accessibility ensures that people with a range of abilities can navigate, understand, and interact with your site. That includes shoppers who use screen readers, rely on keyboard navigation, need captions for videos, or require high-contrast text. The goal is a storefront where no one hits a dead end.
Why It Matters for Your Online Store
When you make your site accessible, you tap into a market of over one billion people worldwide with some form of disability. Here’s why it’s in your interest:
Economic influence
People with disabilities and their networks control about $13 trillion in global disposable income, according to the Global Impact of Disability Report by the Return on Disability Group.
Legal risk and brand reputation
High-profile suits—like Robles v. Domino’s Pizza, which reached the U.S. Supreme Court—underscore the costs of ignoring accessibility. You can read the Supreme Court’s opinion for details. Major retailers such as Walmart and Target revamped their platforms after facing similar challenges and announced new accessibility features and an accessibility roadmap, respectively.
Lost sales and customer trust
In a study on e-commerce accessibility, 71 percent of disabled shoppers said they would abandon a purchase if a site was unusable, as reported by Econsultancy’s “Click-Away Pound” survey.
Common Obstacles for Shoppers with Disabilities
Many store pages unintentionally block buyers:
Missing alternative text for product photos
Insufficient color contrast on buttons and labels
Forms without proper labels or focus order
Pages that trap keyboard users or lack clear skip links
Videos without captions or transcripts
Complex navigation that confuses screen readers
According to the WebAIM Million Web Page Accessibility Report, an audit of top retail sites found an average of 350.1 accessibility errors per page, including 73 unique color-contrast failures.
A Roadmap to Accessible Design
Here’s a step-by-step list to guide your redesign or build:
Follow WCAG 2.1 guidelines as your foundation.
Use semantic HTML tags (header, nav, main, footer).
Add ARIA attributes for dynamic components (alerts, menus).
Provide meaningful alt text for all images.
Ensure text and background contrast meets AA or AAA standards.
Confirm every feature works via keyboard alone.
Label form controls and group related fields.
Include captions or transcripts for multimedia.
Design clear focus indicators for interactive elements.
Review mobile layouts to keep everything reachable and legible.
Testing, Training and Feedback Loops
Making your site accessible is ongoing:
Automated tools (axe, Lighthouse) flag many issues fast.
Manual audits with assistive tools spot what bots miss.
Involve people with disabilities in usability tests.
Train designers and developers on accessible patterns.
Document fixes and maintain an accessibility backlog.
Stepping into the Future: Mobile Commerce and Inclusion
Mobile now drives the majority of online sales, as highlighted in eMarketer’s global ecommerce report. If your responsive site isn’t accessible, you’ll alienate buyers who rely on mobile screen readers or zoom functions. Prioritize the same standards on smaller screens: large touch targets, readable text sizes, and simple layouts.
Welcome Every Shopper
Accessibility isn’t a one-time project—it’s a mindset that turns barriers into pathways. By following standards, tapping user feedback, and keeping pace with mobile trends, you open your store to millions more buyers, reduce legal exposure, and strengthen loyalty. Start today, and watch inclusion drive your bottom line.
