Today, challenges for online retailers and businesses in general are multiplying, and overcoming them requires delving into certain topics and investments that may initially seem unnecessary. Fortunately, by choosing the right technological and legal partners, this endeavor becomes significantly easier, and often, meeting current requirements and standards becomes a competitive advantage. This is precisely the case with the European Accessibility Act, or EAA. Interestingly, it focuses on those advantages that all of us aim to have to rank higher in the list of his majesty, the Customer.
What is the EAA?
The European Accessibility Act (EAA) is a legislative directive adopted by the European Union to improve accessibility for people with disabilities within its member states. It sets out common accessibility standards for a wide range of products and services, ensuring that they are accessible to everyone—including people with disabilities. In short: the purpose of this Act is for the EU to ensure that people with disabilities have better access to everyday goods and services.
Although it may sound like another bureaucratic lever of the European Union, similar directives exist worldwide, including:
- Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) in the USA
- UK Equality Act 2010 in the United Kingdom, which includes accessibility requirements for digital services
- Canada's Accessible Canada Act in Canada
- Australia's Disability Discrimination Act in Australia
- Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) in Switzerland
All of them base their guidelines on WCAG (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines), a global accessibility standard introduced by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C).
When does the EAA take effect?
The EAA was adopted on June 7, 2019, and will come into full effect on June 28, 2025.
How does this affect businesses offering products and services?
According to the directive, all businesses with 10 or more employees or annual turnover exceeding €2 million must comply with its standards.
Certain exemptions may apply, even for some larger companies, but in any case, if a business falls outside the specified framework, it must prioritize and thoroughly examine the directive and its applicability to the products and services it offers.
What are the risks associated with the EAA?
The risks associated with the directive include the possibility of a business being held accountable by consumers who feel disadvantaged and discriminated against regarding access to the products and services provided. Unfortunately, experience in the USA, for example, shows that some organized groups may misuse such regulations, leveraging the legal system to extort or target competitors by using individuals with visual impairments as tools for such actions.
Currently, we lack specific information about the exact fines, but it is known that partial non-compliance with the EAA requirements will be treated differently than complete non-compliance, leading to varying fine amounts.
What does this mean for online retailers?
If you operate an online store, the EAA directly affects your business, as it requires you to ensure that it is accessible to people with disabilities and meets WCAG guidelines. A primary focus of the directive is to remove barriers for users with visual, auditory, cognitive, or physical disabilities.
More specifically, here's what this means for your online store:
1. Accessibility of the public section
- Your website must be designed and developed (or adapted, if it already exists) to meet specific accessibility standards (WCAG), ensuring that users with disabilities can navigate, read, and interact with your content.
- Keyboard navigation: All interactive elements (e.g., forms, buttons, menus) must be accessible via the keyboard for users who cannot use a mouse.
- Screen reader compatibility: Content should be easily interpreted by screen readers, meaning alternative text for images, appropriate button descriptions, and a clear structure (headings, lists) on each page are essential.
2. Accessible products and services
- If you sell digital products (e-books, software, etc.), these products must also comply with accessibility requirements, ensuring they can be used by people with disabilities.
3. Payment systems
- The payment process (payment forms, gateways) must be accessible. This means users with disabilities should be able to complete transactions using assistive technologies without barriers.
4. Customer support
- You must provide accessible customer support options, such as alternatives to phone support (e.g., chat or email options accessible for people with hearing or speech impairments).
The WCAG guidelines are further divided into three compliance levels:
- Level A (minimum): The most basic level of web accessibility.
- Level AA (standard): This is the recommended level for most websites, providing a higher level of accessibility.
- Level AAA: The highest level of accessibility, typically unachievable for all content.
What should every online retailer do in 2024 to prepare for the directive?
At Stenik, we believe that a proactive approach is the most reliable course of action. If your online store is compliant with usability standards before the 2025 deadline, you can feel fully protected from the threat of legal action.
Moreover, as a socially responsible company, you will also have a competitive advantage as soon as you start meeting WCAG & EAA standards.
What are the steps to achieve this?
If we outline the process systematically in a few steps, they would be:
- Consult with a lawyer (if you do not have a partner with the necessary competencies, we can provide one) to validate the necessity of your engagement with EAA standards.
- Conduct an accessibility audit of the online store using specialized software for this purpose.
- In addition to the audit, a real test can be performed with a user from the visually impaired community.
- After identifying system gaps, necessary adjustments and adaptations must be made.
- Since accessibility is more of an ongoing process than a final destination, it is also necessary to train your content managers on how to input information and images into the online store to maintain standards.
At Stenik, we are available to assist with any of these steps, and although the topic is new to us as well, we believe that together we can achieve a more sustainable and socially responsible future for the 26% of EU citizens who have some form of disability, making online shopping fully accessible for them.
