For years, Black Friday has been associated with the experience of going to stores to shop. Long lines, massive crowds, and the occasional in-store brawl have come to embody this holiday tradition.
While a fun and festive time for many, the typical Black Friday experience leaves little room for people with disabilities. Only some people can camp in front of the store on Thursday Night. Only some people can risk being caught in a stampede of shoppers.
Physical store locations are mandated to be physically accessible to individuals with disabilities. This is based on rules put forth by the Americans with Disabilities Act and by Section 504 of the 1973 Rehabilitation Act. Despite these protections, Black Friday's chaotic and intense nature presents several accessibility challenges.
Like everything else, Black Friday changed due to the Covid-19 pandemic. With in-person shopping presenting a health risk, much of the Black Friday experience migrated to the internet.
The first year of the Pandemic saw tremendous Black Friday revenue from online sales. Adobe Business notes that online sales reached around $9 billion on Black Friday 2020. Though this amount decreased to $8.9 billion in 2021, it still marked a paradigm shift for Black Friday.
It also marked a game changer for accessibility. The tradition of Black Friday became physically accessible by allowing individuals to take advantage of sales online.
While this has been a tremendous mark of progression, it's essential to keep up with the momentum and ensure that Black Friday retains its digital accessibility.
Here are some ways retailers can ensure a digitally accessible Black Friday.
Adhere to WCAG
One way retailers can make their Black Friday sales accessible is to make sure their website follows the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG). The WCAG present a set of standards that developers must maintain for their platforms to be accessible. These standards range from color contrast of text to general rules regarding page layout.
For instance, websites must adhere to specified color ratios for a page’s foreground and background. The minimum color ratio for text on a site or app page is 4:5:1. Site developers can use several online tools to check color contrast ratios.
Success Criterion 1.4.3 of the WCAG states:
“The intent of this Success Criterion is to provide enough contrast between text and its background so that it can be read by people with moderately low vision (who do not use contrast-enhancing assistive technology).”
Following these guidelines helps to ensure that individuals can get the most out of their online Black Friday experience.
Maintain routine accessibility practices
Businesses may find that, as Black Friday approaches, they need to update or edit their site pages to reflect various deals and discounts. Though these site updates may be temporary, they must still uphold the accessibility standards set by both the company and the WCAG.
For example, a business may have a novel Black Friday landing page that will only last for November. As this page is temporary, it may be tempting to quickly put it together without the usual WCAG-minded scrutiny.
This is a trap that retailers should avoid. This is not a time to get sloppy. Even if a site's updates are temporary, they must still follow its usual digital accessibility standards.
Accessible ad campaigns
Much of the excitement around Black Friday stems from advertisements and marketing. To reach the broadest possible customer base, retailers should prioritize accessibility when planning an ad campaign.
They can do this by making sure their ads follow the WCAG. Following the guidelines in this context includes clear and concise messaging, easy-to-navigate landing pages, and using text alternatives.
For example, online ads for a Black Friday sale should include alt-text for individuals with visual impairments. The alt text will allow a screen reader to describe the contents of the advertising image.
For more information on accessible advertising, check out our piece on accessible marketing strategies.
Give plenty of time for promotion
Black Friday's intense and frenzied nature can frequently lead to people missing out on deals. Even in an online setting, this can disproportionately affect people with disabilities.
For instance, people with mobility impairments may not be able to operate their computers quickly. As such, they risk missing out on deals with speedier shoppers.
While these things happen, the onus is on retailers to decrease the chance of this type of inaccessibility as much as possible. One way they can do this is by expanding the timeframe of their Black Friday promotion as much as possible.
This could mean starting their promotions earlier than other businesses. This could also mean extending the sales beyond Black Friday. Doing this increases the likelihood of more people benefitting from the sales.
In closing
As Black Friday approaches, it's important to make sure people of all abilities can participate, even if they are shopping online. By following these guidelines, retailers will be able to ensure that Black Friday remains digitally accessible.
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