‘No ownership’ is biggest obstacle to advancing digital accessibility

By Inviqa

More than 1 in 5 UK customers have digital access needs. And with compelling financial, legal, moral, and usability benefits, accessibility should be on every brand’s radar. 

But this isn’t the case today, with less than 1% of website homepages meeting basic web accessibility standards.

To spotlight why this is the case, Inviqa today shared the findings from its new ‘Great CX for All’ report, based on a survey of more than 100 UK professionals involved in the design and development of digital products.  

Here are some of the key findings:

  • 85% of organisations agree that businesses lose out when they don’t cater to users with digital access needs.
  • Brands who fail to cater to UK customers with digital access needs are missing out on a £274 billion opportunity.
  • Lack of clear ownership within the organisation’ is the biggest barrier to accessibility (43%), followed by a lack of ‘the right people or skills’ (16%).
  • Only 4% of respondents strongly agree that their websites and apps currently meet accessibility guidelines, but 44% agree or strongly agree that they will meet technical compliance within the next 12 months.
  • The universal usability benefits of accessibility are the biggest driver (52%) for adoption, followed by the legal reasons (27%).
  • 65% of organisations have not tested their sites and apps with real customers with access needs.

‘Organisations are starting to understand the universal usability benefits of accessibility’, says Olena Bulygina, a senior UX consultant at Inviqa. ‘85% of businesses say they lose out when they don’t cater to users with digital access needs, and we’ve found that usability benefits are the single biggest driver for accessibility initiatives. 

This appreciation that accessible products are better products will be key to helping more brands design inclusively and ensure a great customer experience for everyone alike.

To learn more and get the complete findings: 

Infographic: Digital accessibility by numbers