Study: Most online stores exclude customers with disabilities

Contents

It is a sobering result, according to those responsible for a study on digital accessibility. On behalf of Aktion Mensch and Google, in collaboration with the consulting agency BITV-Consult, PIA UDG and Stiftung Pfennigparade, test individuals tested the 71 most visited online stores for their usability for people with disabilities. 56 providers failed the test.

The test teams reported that only 15 of the sites tested could be operated using a keyboard instead of a mouse. Compared to the previous year, when the study was published, the proportion of accessible web stores has not changed. This means that it is still difficult or even impossible for people with disabilities to order electronic devices, clothing, food, toys, furniture or other items online.

Large target group is being lost

Sophie Geiken lives with stiff joints that restrict her mobility. The Munich native mainly uses a keyboard on the Internet and relies on the Tab key instead of a computer mouse. In a video, she shows an example of how she tested a shopping site – in this case a clothing store. "I've found a red dress here that I want to buy, but I can't select a size," explains the tester. "The shopping cart is grayed out and can only be selected once you have specified a size." The store has therefore excluded a potential customer. Geiken has to look for another provider.

Lack of orientation due to missing labels or alternative texts, illogical order of the tab control, font that is too small or too thin, missing subtitles, no offer in simple or easy language, poor contrasts: like Sophie Geiken, many people face major barriers in everyday life, including in the digital world.

There are 13.5 million people with disabilities living in Germany, 10.2 million of them with a recognized disability and 7.8 million with a recognized severe disability. A huge potential target group, emphasizes Jürgen Dusel, the Federal Government Commissioner for Matters relating to People with Disabilities. He cannot understand why many website operators do not seem to recognize this. "It's pretty crazy to exclude such a large group of people," says Dusel. After all, it is by no means the case that those who face barriers from the social system and companies have no purchasing power. "It simply doesn't make sense to create barriers." Accessibility is a sign of quality: both for a modern country and for the professionalism of a company.

AI can potentially break down many barriers

Michael Wahl, Head of the Federal Monitoring Agency for Accessibility of Information Technology, hopes to be able to eliminate many deficits in digital accessibility with the help of artificial intelligence. "AI can take users on a journey, usually in the form of chatbots that can explain a graph, for example, using purely verbal or textual input," says Wahl. The AI can also provide additional information, such as the pattern of a dress – tailored to the needs of the person in front of the device. Meanwhile, Jürgen Dusel is concerned that this development could also take place without taking the interests of people with disabilities into account. "This means that many people will experience exclusion and that is a violation of human rights, it really must be said so clearly."

Susanne Baumer from the Pfennigparade Foundation, who was involved in the study, also emphasizes that if a company or development team considers accessibility from the outset, this does not even cause any significant additional costs – in contrast to subsequent adaptation. If HTML is used as it was originally intended, it is accessible anyway. Wahl backs up this point: "Accessibility is not rocket science, it is properly implemented HTML."

"Companies that have not yet addressed the issue of digital accessibility should do so as soon as possible", appeals Christina Marx from Aktion Mensch. The reason for this is not only the Barrier-free Accessibility Strengthening Act (BFSG). It is based on the EU directive on digital accessibility called the "European Accessibility Act" (EAA), which, when it comes into force on June 28, 2025, will oblige member states to make online commerce accessible. Internet users with disabilities are also a large target group that needs to be tapped into. "61 percent of people with disabilities state that they use the internet frequently or very frequently for shopping – contrast to 51 percent of those without disabilities", says Marx.

Accessibility is not a ranking factor on Google

However, accessibility is not a ranking criterion in its own right when it comes to findability on Google. The search engine giant relies on companies fulfilling their obligation to provide accessible design and while those affected know where to place their bookmarks. However, Google's own products are always tested by people with disabilities, says Isabelle Joswig, Inclusion Officer at Google. At the same time, her company provides guidelines and tools to check sites for accessibility.

The online stores examined originate from the 500 most-visited company websites in Germany, according to web analyst SimilarWeb. 71 of these had a complete e-commerce online store (from search to purchase). In 2023, there were still 78 sites. In the first step, the test team examined the online stores for usability with a keyboard. Sites that met this criterion were tested for up to seven further criteria based on the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) of the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C):

• Are form fields to be filled in clearly labeled and explained?
• Can the text size be changed?
• Are the contrasts of texts and graphics sufficiently high?
• Is multimedia content accessible to everyone?
• Can users pause, stop or hide multimedia content?
• Are headings and labels meaningful and understandable?
• Can interactive elements (buttons or drop-down menus) be read by assistive technologies?

(are)