Retail websites are the worst-performing sector for digital accessibility, with new data revealing they have 27% more errors than the average website.
The latest WebAIM Million 2026 report, which analysed the homepages of the world’s top one million websites, found an average of 56.1 accessibility errors per page, up from 51 the previous year.
Shopping websites average 71 accessibility errors per page, significantly higher than the overall average.
Overall, 95.9% of pages across all sectors failed to meet basic accessibility standards (WCAG 2 A or AA).
Retail sites rank at the bottom of the accessibility league table, largely due to their reliance on complex layouts, imagery, and interactive elements.
The most common barriers include low-contrast text (on 84% of home pages), missing alternative text for images (53%), unlabelled form inputs (51%), and empty links (46%) or buttons (31%). These issues are particularly problematic in retail, where users rely on images, filters, and forms to browse products and complete purchases.
WebAIM also found that homepage complexity is increasing, with pages now containing an average of 1,437 elements (such as images, buttons and links), a 22.5% increase in just one year. Almost 4% of all page elements contain an accessibility error, meaning users encounter a barrier on roughly one in every 26 elements.
Nexer Digital’s latest research into user behaviour also supports this. Its Hidden Journey study found that 79% of disabled users struggled to browse products, 81% found selecting items difficult or impossible, and 81% struggled to complete transactions, highlighting how accessibility barriers appear throughout the entire shopping journey.
Hilary Stephenson, Managing Director of Nexer Digital, said: “Retail is built around browsing, comparing and making quick decisions. But when accessibility barriers appear early and often, that experience becomes tiring and frustrating.
“For many disabled users, it’s not one major failure that stops them completing a purchase. It’s the accumulation of small issues such as unclear buttons, missing labels and poor contrast that gradually erode confidence and make people abandon the journey altogether.
“What’s often overlooked is that this is also a significant commercial issue. Retailers that fail to cater for disabled shoppers are missing a major business opportunity. Our research shows that people are unlikely to return after a poor experience, but when brands get accessibility right, they build strong, lasting customer loyalty.”
The report also highlights a sharp increase in imagery, with an average of 66.6 images per page. More than one in four images still have missing or inadequate alternative text, and many are used as links, creating significant barriers for screen reader users.
Hilary continued: “Retailers are investing heavily in digital experiences, but accessibility is still not being treated as a core requirement. These are not complex problems to solve, but they are being repeated at scale.
“With legislation like the European Accessibility Act now in force, businesses need to act. But beyond compliance, this is about creating experiences that work for everyone and ensuring customers are not excluded from participating in everyday digital life.”
