The European Accessibility Act: Is Your Business Ready?
With just months remaining until the European Accessibility Act (EAA) comes into full force, businesses across Europe are facing a critical decision point: treat this as merely another regulatory hurdle or recognize it as a strategic opportunity to expand market reach and enhance customer experience.
What Is the European Accessibility Act?
The EAA is comprehensive EU legislation mandating that products and services be accessible to people with disabilities. Coming into full effect in June 2025, it extends far beyond previous requirements, affecting:
- Websites and mobile applications
- E-commerce platforms
- Banking services
- Telecommunications products
- Transportation services
- And much more
Unlike earlier directives that primarily targeted public sector organizations, the EAA explicitly extends to private businesses, regardless of their size or industry—and it doesn't just apply to companies based in the EU.
To be clear, if you sell products or services to European customers, the EAA will likely affect your business.
The Hidden Cost of Non-Compliance
Many organizations are still unaware of the potential consequences of failing to meet these new requirements. The penalties can be severe:
- Fines reaching hundreds of thousands of euros
- Daily penalties accumulating until compliance is achieved
- Products being removed from the European market
- Potential business suspension for serious violations
Beyond direct financial penalties, there's the cost of emergency remediation—which is typically 2-3 times higher than planned accessibility implementation—and the damage to your brand reputation.
A UK banking executive recently shared with us: "We initially approached accessibility as a compliance exercise, but quickly realized we were looking at it all wrong. The potential penalties were just the tip of the iceberg compared to the market opportunity we were missing."
The Business Opportunity You Can't Afford to Miss
While the compliance aspect demands attention, forward-thinking businesses are recognizing something even more compelling: the untapped market potential.
Consider these eye-opening statistics:
- Over 100 million Europeans have disabilities, with a collective annual spending power of €853 billion
- In the UK, the "Purple Pound" (spending power of people with disabilities) is worth £274 billion yearly
- One in four adults in the US and UK has some form of disability
Yet most digital experiences aren't designed with these customers in mind. The result? A massive, underserved market waiting for businesses that get accessibility right.
Early Adopters Are Already Seeing Returns
Companies that have proactively embraced accessibility aren't just avoiding compliance risks—they're seeing tangible business benefits:
"After implementing accessibility improvements across our e-commerce platform, we saw a 23% increase in conversions and a surprising 17% reduction in cart abandonment rates across ALL users, not just those with disabilities." — Digital Director, European Retail Brand
This pattern repeats across industries. Accessible design frequently leads to:
- Higher conversion rates
- Improved SEO performance
- Better user experience for everyone
- Stronger brand loyalty and customer retention
Is Your Organization Prepared?
With the June 2025 deadline approaching, many companies are asking themselves:
- Do we understand what the EAA requires of our specific products and services?
- Have we assessed our current accessibility status?
- Do we have a strategic roadmap for compliance?
- Are we prepared to transform this challenge into a competitive advantage?
If you answered "no" to any of these questions, you're not alone—but the time to act is now.
From Compliance to Opportunity: The Strategic Approach
The most successful organizations are approaching EAA compliance not as a technical checkbox exercise but as a strategic business initiative with executive sponsorship and cross-functional participation.
This approach requires:
- Understanding the specific requirements for your business
- Assessing your current accessibility maturity
- Developing a prioritized roadmap for improvement
- Building organizational capability and awareness
- Integrating accessibility into your development lifecycle
Now is the time to act
Get in touch today, and we'll run a free accessibility audit of your website to assess your accessibility maturity. We'll identify potential EAA breaches and provide implementable fix code.
We also offer an ' Inclusive by Design' workshop, in which we guide you on how to design for the future, placing accessibility and inclusivity at the centre of your design strategy.
