New research shows that UK businesses – including high-street brands – are losing millions of pounds of revenue every year by turning their backs on disabled consumers.
The researchers conducted a poll of 501 people who consider themselves to be disabled, including those with autism. More than half of the respondents said they struggle to make purchases of a product or service due to their disability.
Disabled young people (aged 16-24) fare the worst. More than three in four of them said they found it difficult to buy goods online or in person due to their disability on more than one occasion.
Main criticisms
The main criticisms were retailers’ inaccessible and unusable locations, poor customer service and a lack of understanding about disabilities.
Some four in five disabled consumers said businesses could do more to be accessible. And more than half (56 per cent) agreed that improving staff understanding about different disabilities would encourage them to spend their disposable income, estimated to be £249 billion a year.
More than one in five said that hiring more disabled people would make them more likely to make a purchase.
Improving experiences for disabled consumers
Disability organisation Purple organised the poll. It runs ‘Purple Tuesday’, an event that celebrates UK companies that improve the lives of disabled shoppers. Last year, more than 750 organisations took part, including Argos, Asda, Barclays and Sainsbury’s. This year, Purple Tuesday is due to take place on 12 November.
Mike Adams OBE is chief executive of Purple. He said: “While many UK businesses and organisations are stepping up to the mark and making the changes needed to improve disabled customers’ experiences, far too many are not.
“It should simply not be the case that one in two disabled people struggle to make purchases online or in person. Small changes can make a big difference to the customer experience; we want to help organisations have the confidence to improve their services for disabled people.”
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Published: 17 September 2019
