Although in the UK there is a legal requirement for business to proactively consider the accessibility of their systems, products and services, there are also significant commercial benefits associated with accessible ICT.
Hamish Elvidge, a Director at Sainsbury's, says "We have evidence that online shoppers with Sainsbury's also shop instore. If the online experience is inaccessible or disappointing, shoppers are very likely to move to a competitor - as will the instore spend."
Other compelling facts include:
- Tesco implemented a fully accessible version of their on-line grocery store. It cost £35,000 to develop and generates estimated annual revenue of £1.61m.
- Lloyds TSB found that accessible web pages are up to 75% smaller than non-accessible pages, with the potential for huge bandwidth savings and reduced infrastructure demands * Barrier free online recruitment opens the doors to the talent of an additional 1.3 million applicants in the UK alone.(McKinseys)
- 83% of disabled people 'walk away' from purchases because they feel unwelcome or the product or service offering is inaccessible. (EFD survey)
Members of the Business Taskforce on Accessible Technology (BTAT) recently contributed to a new business case on accessible ICT developed by the OneVoice for accessible ICT coalition. The business case presents the argument for considering diversity and inclusion at the heart of ICT policies as a way of influencing critical success factors relating to customers, employees and internal processes and benefiting society as a whole.
