5 Accessibility Insights Every Retailer Should Know Before the Holiday Rush

As retailers prepare for the holiday rush, all focus is on speed, convenience and conversion. However, there’s another metric that deserves attention this season: inclusion. Accessibility isn’t just about compliance anymore; it’s about building loyalty, trust, and a retail experience that works for everyone.

I’ve spent more than two decades helping brands, from large household names to local small businesses, design retail systems that serve all customers, including those who are blind or have low vision. The most common lesson? Small design decisions can make or break someone’s ability to shop independently.

Here are five things the accessibility community wants retailers to know before Black Friday and Cyber Monday hit:

1. Self-checkout can be empowering — or excluding.

We’ve all seen the rise of self-checkout. It’s efficient and scalable, but for customers who are blind or have low vision, it can also be a barrier. In most U.S. stores today, accessible self-checkout is virtually nonexistent. That means millions of shoppers are forced to rely on staff assistance or skip the purchase altogether.

Retailers like Target are beginning to change that narrative, piloting self-checkout systems that talk to customers through audio guidance. The difference is profound. An accessible self-checkout lets a customer complete their purchase independently, with dignity and privacy — just like everyone else. This is one of the biggest untapped opportunities in retail experience design.

2. Accessibility drives loyalty, and loyalty drives revenue.

When people have a great experience, they tell their friends. When they don’t, they tell the internet. Accessibility directly impacts both. I often reference a story that says it all: Domino’s Pizza spent years and millions of dollars fighting a website accessibility lawsuit all the way to the Supreme Court when it could have fixed its site for a fraction of that.

That decision didn’t just alienate one customer; it alienated an entire community. Conversely, brands like Amazon.com have shown what’s possible when accessibility is built in. From Alexa to Fire TV, it has designed products that everyone can use, and its customer base reflects that inclusivity.

3. Design decisions start at the contract stage.

Most retailers rely on a web of vendors to build apps, kiosks and loyalty systems. Yet few require accessibility from those partners. That’s a costly oversight. The simplest way to “bake in” accessibility is to put it in your contracts. Make it a standard requirement for every website, mobile app, and in-store technology vendor.

Accessibility isn’t a one-time project. It’s a culture of inclusion that starts in procurement and carries through development, testing and maintenance.

4. Training your teams pays off fast.

Retail employees are the face of your brand. A little training goes a long way in making every customer feel welcome. Frontline staff can learn simple etiquette — e.g., how to guide a blind shopper without grabbing their cane or service animal. Meanwhile, design and tech teams can take short online courses to understand how to label buttons, fields, and workflows for screen readers.

This is low-cost, high-impact action. You can start this week.

5. Do one thing — today.

Accessibility can feel overwhelming, especially with competing priorities and tight deadlines. My advice: don’t wait for perfection. Pick one thing and make it better. Add accessibility testing to your QA checklist. Offer a short employee training. Review your vendor contracts. Each small step builds momentum and credibility.

Remember, accessibility isn’t just about compliance. It’s about customer experience. The disability community represents a $13 trillion global consumer market, and their loyalty runs deep for brands that demonstrate care and inclusion.

This holiday season, as you race to optimize speed and sales, take a moment to consider accessibility as your next competitive advantage. When every customer can shop independently and confidently, everyone wins.

Matt Ater is senior vice president at Vispero, a global leader in assistive technology and accessibility.