Five reasons why digital accessibility must matter

Sarah wants to access her new online banking account to pay an urgent bill. Frustrated and anxious, she spends close to an hour trying to complete a simple task that should only take a few minutes. Unfortunately, her bank’s digital interface is not compatible with her screen reader, which she relies on as a person with a visual impairment.

If you think this is an extremely uncommon scenario, roughly 80 million people, or one-fifth of the EU’s population, live with a disability.[1] A disability can affect anyone at any time and can include temporary conditions like someone recovering from surgery or suffering from a short-term injury that prevents them from accessing a once routine service.

As a brand in the digital space, you should strive to design and develop more accessible services, especially since digital accessibility can suddenly become very important for any of your customers.

Here are five more reasons why this topic deserves your attention.

1. Tap into a large and valuable audience

People with disabilities will naturally favor brands that ease their accessibility challenges. A study in the Netherlands revealed that 45% of iOS and 61% of Android users “have one or more accessibility settings activated on their phone.”[2] By making features like screen reader compatibility, video captioning, and voice recognition standard practice in software development, your business will see a significant uptick in transactions thanks to new satisfied customers.

2. Your brand reputation is on the line

Whether physical or mental, temporary or permanent, disabilities can limit people’s access to essential services in areas like banking, transportation, healthcare, and education. As digital technologies become increasingly integral to our daily lives, addressing accessibility is not only a matter of social justice but also an economic necessity. If your business can design products and services that are easier to access by everyone, your new and existing customers will have a favorable view of your brand, which can engender strong customer loyalty.

3. Non-compliance will be costly

Starting June 28, 2025, the European Accessibility Act (EAA) will introduce measures requiring EU businesses to adhere to the updated digital accessibility guidelines, as it aims to reduce barriers to entry and ensure everyone can participate in the digital realm.[3] This new standard will catch many affected businesses by surprise. A January 2025 survey revealed that only 11% of organizations feel confident they will meet the June deadline, while another 35% aren’t even sure if their changes are enough to be in scope of the EAA.[4] By prioritizing accessibility today, you’ll avoid potential legal pitfalls tomorrow.

4. A better user experience (UX) benefits everyone

Accessibility is about more than just meeting legal requirements; it’s about creating a highly accessible service that’s more enjoyable to use. By adding new features, you enhance the overall experience for all users. Plus, did you know search engines favor accessible websites?

5. Continuous improvement leads to long-term growth

Accessibility is not a one-time fix; it’s a continuous journey that will only become more relevant in the future. Disabilities such as visual impairments, hearing loss, cognitive decline, and reduced mobility are a fact of life as populations age, so if you want to be a business that values a diverse customer base, you’ll make accessibility a foundational core of your business strategy. And by doing so you’ll set a positive example in your industry, winning you respect and loyalty from customers, employees, and stakeholders alike.

For example, a national postal company recognized the importance of enhancing accessibility and collaborated with Capgemini to evaluate over 100 of their omnichannel journeys. This led to the identification of more than 250 recommendations for improving the UX of their app and website.

Ready to create a more inclusive digital environment? Stay tuned for our follow-up article, Five steps to widespread digital accessibility.

Contact us to learn more about how we can help you with your digital accessibility journey.

• [1] https://www.who.int/health-topics/disability#tab=tab_1
• [2] https://appt.org/en/stats
• [3] https://creative-boost.com/european-accessibility-act/#:~:text=European%20Accessibility%20Act%20Exemptions,less%20than%20€2%20million
• [4] https://abilitynet.org.uk/news-blogs/eaa-only-11-organisations-confident-they-will-meet-june-deadline