CAPTERRA STUDY: 38% OF COMPANIES RECORD HIGHER SALES WITH ACCESSIBLE WEBSITES
54 % IMPROVE DIGITAL ACCESSIBILITY WITH KI
From June 2025, websites and online stores must be accessible, but many operators are not yet prepared for the “Accessibility Act”. The software evaluation platform Capterra examined the economic benefits of an accessible website and provides specific recommendations for companies (published October 2024).
Highlights of the study:
- 73% of companies will increase investment in digital accessibility in the next 12 months.
- 38% of companies that offer accessible functions record higher sales.
- 54% use AI-driven solutions to improve digital accessibility.
Increased investment in digital accessibility planned over the next 12 months
German companies take digital accessibility seriously. More than half of respondents (56%) state that their company website is “somewhat” accessible and 24% describe it as “very accessible”. Around a fifth of websites are not accessible.
73% of companies that offer optimized digital accessibility plan to invest more in improving the accessibility of their website in 2025. 25% of respondents will invest the same amount as in the previous year.
The majority of companies (37%) that offer accessible functions outsource their implementation to consultants or third-party providers. 32% of companies implement it internally with their own staff and resources and 29% state that they use a combination of outsourced and internal resources.
Interesting fact: German companies fear losing customers if accessibility is not met (45%). 45% anticipate damage to the company’s reputation or legal consequences & fines (40%) – this puts Germany well above the international average of 29%). 34% fear financial losses.
38% of companies record higher sales as a result of their efforts
According to the study, 96% of companies with inclusive web design already see a positive result from their efforts, 37% of which even see very positive results. In addition to the non-monetary benefits of accessible websites, such as better user-friendliness and therefore greater customer loyalty (53%), a positive perception of inclusion often also projects a positive brand image onto the company in social networks – which boosts social media performance (39%).
38% of the companies surveyed have recorded higher sales & conversion rates since implementing accessible functions. Online stores and websites lose fewer customers who cannot find their way around the site or do not complete the purchase process. User-friendly pages make navigation easier and reinforce a positive customer experience. In addition, accessible websites rank better in search engines, which in turn leads to more reach & organic traffic (for 39% of companies) and higher sales figures.
Even if, at first glance, investments are associated with the implementation of accessibility, 28% of the study participants experienced cost savings. In the long term, accessible websites can, for example, reduce the number of customer inquiries and relieve the burden on customer support (22%), as all users can find information more easily without the help of customer support.
How companies measure their success
According to the study, the majority of companies (76%) evaluate the accessibility of their website or app at least once a year. The following 4 key metrics are used to assess the success of digital accessibility:
- Customer feedback: More than half of companies (56%) use surveys, website ratings or reviews. Survey tools allow companies to obtain customer and employee feedback quickly and cost-effectively.
- Website performance: 49% analyze web analytics metrics such as page views, bounce rate, dwell time and unique visitors, etc. Web analysis tools and heat maps provide information on user behavior.
- Sales performance/financial success: A comparison of turnover, customer reach and customer retention rate before and after the introduction of accessible functions is relevant for 46% of respondents. The ERP or CRM system can be used for this purpose.
- Customer support/help desk performance: 45% track the number of incoming customer inquiries, average response times and tickets relating to difficulties with the purchase process or navigation. Help desk software or issue tracking software allow regular measurement and analysis.
54% use AI-driven solutions to improve digital accessibility
The technologies most used by companies to improve digital accessibility on their website include AI-driven solutions at 54%. For example, voice assistants, automatic subtitling, object and scene recognition in images or the summarization of text content are used.
In addition to artificial intelligence, companies use other tools that are often already available in most companies, such as a CMS or payment system:
- Tools for automatically checking and testing accessibility (47%)
- Website creation software, including plugins and widgets (44%)
- Software for content creation (43%)
- Payment processing or cash register systems (39 %)
An investment that pays off
The study results show that investing in digital accessibility pays off in the long term. User-friendliness and easy navigation are not only important for making websites accessible to people with limitations or disabilities, but also generally improve the customer experience and customer satisfaction. Greater customer focus also has a positive impact on sales figures and cost savings – such as a reduced workload for customer support. Customer loyalty and brand image can also benefit from these measures.
“Companies should strive to make the measures as useful as possible for their users and continuously improve them,” comments Ines Bahr, Senior Content Analyst for Capterra Germany. “To achieve this, regular customer feedback and the measurement and evaluation of measures are crucial.”
Further information at: https://www.capterra.com.de/blog/7531/studie-barrierefreie-website-kosten-umsatz
Methodology: Capterra’s Digital Accessibility Survey was conducted in July 2024 among 2,748 respondents in the US (n=250), Canada (n=250), Brazil (n=250), Mexico (n=250), UK (n=250), France (n=248), Italy (n=250), Germany (n=250), Spain (n=250), Australia (n=250) and Japan (n=250). The aim of the study was to understand companies’ digital accessibility efforts. Respondents were screened based on whether they worked full-time or part-time in e-commerce, website design or UX, IT, marketing, customer service and support, or sales. Respondents also included business owners or executives. All respondents must indicate that they have a company website.
Source: Capterra Germany