Defining a Problem – Accessibility in Online Shopping Platforms (Notes)
Resources to use:
How Do Blind or Visually Impaired People Shop Online?
https://www.forbes.com/sites/sarahkim/2020/12/30/accessibility-of-online-shopping/#:~:text=According%20to%20a%20recent%20report,%246.9%20billion%20on%20the%20table. https://www.forbes.com/sites/denisebrodey/2019/10/08/54-of-adults-living-with-a-disability-go-online-but-dominos-pizza-is-still-fighting-change/
- NOTES:
- For many users with sight issues, ranging from visually impaired to fully blind, shopping online is difficult as 2/3 of the top ten retailers have serious accessibility issues.
- Online shopping should be a great resource for visually impaired people, for the sake of convenience
- Online ordering platforms need to implement more tools for in order to become more accessible, for the consideration of everyone’s rights, lest they face legal action
- – Case against Domino’s Pizza: failure to comply with ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) .
- – screen-reading software on the pizza app did not work, made it impossible for a blind man to order
- According to Forbes “ADA requires businesses (“with physical locations”? why just physical locations?) to make websites and other online platforms accessible to those with disabilities”
- Some online platforms have updated their software to be accessible, such as Amazon and Target, but it’s still not perfect
- If giant corporations like these can’t make their sites accessible, how can smaller companies even do it? Is it a matter of resources? Or just a refusal to modernize/laziness? Or ignorance?
Further items to consider while working on Critical Analysis project:
- Should I focus on how the experience of online shopping as a whole can be improved for the visually impaired, or should I just focus on one aspect?
- Should I focus on how every company can change or just one company?
Sophia Maynard 