As the holiday season draws near, the excitement factor always ramps up. Twinkling lights, festive meetups, and plenty of online shopping await!
This is great news for eCommerce businesses, as overall sales are expected to get a solid 2% boost over November and December, with online spending growing by 8.4% to reach a market value of $240.8 billion. But, amid all the holiday cheer, it’s essential to recognise that this may not be the most wonderful time of the year for everyone.
You see, one in every six people has a disability that makes online shopping challenging. So, savvy ecommerce operators aren’t simply stocking up on Christmas products. They’re spending their time improving the website accessibility of their eCommerce stores to ensure optimum uptake in the lead up to the holiday sales season.
Does your website give the gift of accessibility to online shoppers? If not, now is the time to act.
The Importance of Accessible Ecommerce Stores
Think accessibility is just a buzzword? Think again! With so many people facing online barriers, ensuring everyone can access, navigate, and spend on your website is a critical consideration.
- 73% of potential customers experience barriers on more than a quarter of websites they visit (We Are Purple).
- 83% of shoppers with accessibility needs limit their shopping to sites they know are barrier-free, and 86% agree they would spend more if there were fewer barriers (Clickaway Pound).
- According to Google, 61% of users are unlikely to return to a site on mobile if they had trouble accessing it, and 40% visit a competitor’s site instead (Ocean5).
The value of this ‘click away’ trade is significant, with lost revenue estimated due to inaccessibility estimated to be worth $2 billion per month globally.
Free Accessibility Check of your Website or eCommerce Store
Detecting accessibility issues has never been easier than it is now. At Recite Me we offer a free automated scan of your websites homepage. This will identify and highlight any non-compliance on your website. Followed by recommendations on how to implement the necessary changes to improve your websites accessibility score and standing.
The Best Accessibility Strategies for eCommerce Stores This Christmas
Everyone deserves to experience the joy of finding that perfect gift! So, as you prepare for the holiday rush, consider the following accessibility best practices to ensure your online store is a welcoming space for all.
1. Improve Your Website Design
Here’s how to create a welcoming online environment that’s easy to navigate for all users:
- Ensure all website elements are optimised for keyboard navigation so visitors who cannot use a mouse or trackpad can still explore your seasonal offerings.
- Utilise correct heading structures (H1, H2, H3, etc.) to help people using screen readers to navigate your content more effectively.
- Use a dyslexia-friendly font for all of your web copy.
Ensure that layouts, themes, widgets, plugins, etc., are consistent across all pages.
2. Optimise Multimedia for Inclusion
Shoppers often rely on images and videos of products to decide whether they meet their needs. If your multimedia isn’t accessible, all those potential sales will be lost to your competitors. Here’s a list of best practices:
- Include descriptive alt text for images, being sure to fully describe appearance and function to create a vivid picture in shoppers’ minds.
- Provide captions and audio descriptions on videos to add value and aid understanding.
- Provide accurately synced transcripts for audio content.
Avoid using content featuring flashing or strobing effects, as this can cause headaches, nausea, and dizziness for shoppers with photosensitivity.
3. Pay Close Attention to Colour
The colour choices you make go way beyond branding and recognition. Some combinations simply don’t work for shoppers with colourblindness, autism, and neurodivergent traits like dyslexia.
- Choose colour schemes that are easy on the eyes, and avoid using overly bright or clashing colours.
- Use single-colour backgrounds, avoiding pure white where possible. You can check colour contrast ratios against Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) recommendations on the free WebAim Contrast Checker.
- Use labels or descriptive text on swatches, as some users find it impossible to differentiate between options on colour picker charts based on visuals alone.
- Avoid grey scaling, which makes many of the elements on your pages look the same, meaning links are indiscernible and CTAs look disabled.
4. Keep your Copywriting Clear and Simple
Long, complex sentences and poorly formatted pages make it hard for many site visitors to focus and find the information they need. So, keep your copywriting easy to follow and let your products do the dazzling! Here’s a few top tips:
- Present information in short, concise sentences using simple language.
- Stay clear of jargon, idioms, and abbreviations that not everyone may understand.
- Incorporate bullet points or numbered lists to break up big blocks of text.
- Avoid using justified text, italics, and copy presented in multiple columns, as this may create a ‘river effect’ where focus is drawn to the white space rather than the actual words.
5. Create an Accessible Checkout Process
An easy checkout process can be the difference between a joyful purchase and a holiday disappointment. Here are a few ways to simplify the checkout experience for effortlessly holiday shopping:
- Break your checkout process down into clearly labeled steps that are easy to follow.
- Give buttons like ‘add to cart,’ ‘buy now,’ and ‘continue shopping’ suitably descriptive labels that clarify their purpose and intention.
- Provide clear error messages and instructions for form fields and allow shoppers to review and edit their order before final submission.
- Include payment options like Apple Pay and Google Pay with autofill fields that don’t require fine motor skills to fill in card details.
Get Your eCommerce Site Ready for Christmas Now!
Why wait for the last-minute rush? The holiday countdown is on, so don’t let your business miss out on a chance to spread joy through inclusivity – and reap the financial rewards and brand loyalty benefits! With Christmas fast approaching, now is the time to make sure your eCommerce website is ready to welcome every shopper into the holiday spirit.
Need help to ‘sleigh’ your competition and help your customers unwrap the gift of accessibility? Recite Me has developed a suite of on-demand accessibility tools that are purpose-built to streamline online shopping experiences.
Think of the Recite Me Assistive Toolbar as an extra gift-wrapping station that equips your site with all the extra bells and whistles needed to enhance user experiences. The fully customisable toolbar offers features like text-to-speech, translation options, and font adjustments, making it easier for all shoppers to browse and buy with confidence on your site.
Think of the Recite Me Accessibility Checker as your trusty Christmas elf. It does all the legwork to make sure your website meets accessibility standards. Our software runs 396 separate WCAG-based scans to identify non-compliance issues, then generates a prioritised fix queue for effective resolution.
Contact our team today to learn how Recite Me can help you create more inclusive online shopping experiences. Together, we can ensure that your eCommerce site is not just a store but a welcoming home for all holiday shoppers!
