The business case for accessibility isn’t theoretical. These organisations invested in making their websites more inclusive and saw measurable improvements in revenue, organic search traffic, and customer satisfaction. While these companies were not clients of Fanatic, they are prime examples of why investing in accessibility is a strategic business move.
Tesco originally built a separate, accessible version of their grocery website specifically for users with visual impairments at a cost of £35,000. After extensive user testing with people with varied visual impairments, the site launched and quickly became their primary e-commerce platform, used by all customers, not just those it was originally designed for. This is now known as the ‘curb cut effect’: design for the edges, and the middle takes care of itself.
The pre-Christmas period following launch saw orders reach 700,000 per week, with an average spend of £95. Annual site revenue climbed to £13 million: a return of over 37,000% on the original £35,000 investment.
total investment
to build an accessible site
annual revenue
generated as a result
orders per week
avg. spend of £95 (2001)
Legal & General rebuilt their website with accessibility at its core: introducing semantic HTML, descriptive alt text, and accessible forms. The results were immediate and significant: organic search traffic jumped 25% within the first day of launch. Inaccessibility complaints were eliminated entirely. The investment paid for itself within 12 months.
-Caroline Fawcett, Customer Experience Director, Legal & General
source: w3.org/WAI/business-case/archive/legal-and-general-case-study
increase
in natural search traffic
more visitors
seeking quotes online
reduction
in maintenance costs
annual spending power
of households with at least 1 disabled member in the UK
Purple Pound
of disabled users
will leave a website that presents access barriers
Silktide / C.A.P. Survey
of disabled users
would pay more to use an accessible website
Scope for Business
of organisations
cite improved revenue as a benefit of investing in digital accessibility
Level Access
average increase
in overall traffic seen by sites that implement accessibility, within three months
Semrush
average increase
in sales for e-commerce sites that redesign with accessibility at core
Silktide
source: https://www.w3.org/WAI/business-case/
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