Accessibility for products and services
Change is constant in the world of e-commerce. Companies face new challenges all the time due to new technologies, ever-growing competition, and more and more well-informed consumers. And now, a new, comprehensive Directive that affects e-commerce sellers and providers of online shops in particular comes into force in June 2025: the EU Directive on the accessibility requirements for products and services, or European Accessibility Act (EAA) in short. This Directive stipulates that products and services provided in the EU have to be accessible to everybody, in particular to people with disabilities, in the future.
This blog post tells you what the EAA means, which requirements e-commerce sellers will have to comply with, and how to prepare for it all.
What is the European Accessibility Act (EAA)?
The European Accessibility Act is an EU Directive that aims at improving the accessibility of products and services for people with disabilities. It refers to a wide range of services, including e-commerce, electronic communication services, banking services, e-books, ticket systems, and many more. The objective of the Directive is to remove obstacles that prevent people with disabilities from participating in social life.
The EU member states are required to transpose the Directive into national law by June 2025. In Germany, this will be done by way of an amendment of the Accessibility Strengthening Act (Barrierefreiheitsstärkungsgesetz, BFSG). Every business that operates in the EU, offering products or services, irrespective of their registered office, is subject to these regulations.
For e-commerce sellers, this means that they have to ensure the accessibility of their online shops and products in order to continue to successfully operate on the European market.
Which products and services are subject to the EAA?
The Directive covers a wide range of products and services, including:
- Online shops and digital marketplaces: Online shop operators are obligated to ensure that their websites are accessible, both regarding navigation and the presentation of contents.
- Electronic devices and software: Products such as smartphones, computers and tablets as well as the installed software have to be operable by people with disabilities. This includes barrier-free interfaces and instructions.
- Banking services: Online banking services have to be accessible as well.
- E-books and e-readers: Readers and their content have to be designed so as to be easily accessible for people with visual impairments.
- Audiovisual media services: This includes streaming platforms and similar services, which have to be accessible for people with hearing or visual impairments.
E-commerce operators and Amazon sellers primarily focus on the accessible design of websites, sales platforms, and the products they offer.
What does accessibility mean in e-commerce?
For operators of online shops and sellers on platforms such as Amazon, accessibility refers to a number of measures that ensure that people with disabilities have the same access to products and services as other customers. These measures include:
- Accessible website navigation: Every customer should be able to smoothly navigate through your online shop, irrespective of whether they use a mouse, keyboard, or voice commands to do so.
- Compatibility with screen readers: For people with visual impairments, all the content on your website has to be readable by screen readers. This includes correctly structured texts, alternative texts for images, and accessible forms.
- Adjustable font sizes and contrast settings: Your website should allow users to adjust the font sizes and increase the contrast to improve legibility.
- Accessible product descriptions: Product information should be clear and well structured. Alternative texts for images and plain language are very important in this context.
- Simple payment options: The checkout process has to be clearly structured and easily understandable. People with motor or cognitive impairments should be able to handle every step without difficulty.
These measures may sound difficult to put into practice, but many of the necessary adjustments are, in fact, relatively easy to implement if you have the right tools and a clear plan.
What happens in the case of non-compliance?
From June 2025, non-compliance with the accessibility requirements will be subject to penalties. Which penalties apply, specifically, depends on the transposition of the Directive into the respective national law. In Germany, companies that fail to comply with the requirements will be liable to pay fines or suffer other legal consequences.
Therefore, it is important for e-commerce sellers to be prepared in time. The costs and effort involved in implementing the accessibility requirements can be much lower than the potential penalties and the damage to the company’s reputation in the case of non-compliance.
How to prepare for the EAA
To meet all the requirements of the EAA by June 2025, you should start planning and implementing the necessary changes soon. Some steps that you can already take include:
- Do a website audit: Check the accessibility of your current website. There are special tools to help you identify problems. In Germany, for example, you can use the BITV test (ordinance on barrier-free information technology, available in German only).
- Training seminars: Learn and instruct your employees about the accessibility requirements. There are numerous training seminars that can help you understand and implement the standards.
- Cooperation with experts: Involve accessibility experts to ensure that you comply with all the statutory provisions. They can help you with the best possible design for your website, product descriptions, and processes.
- Make technical adjustments: Use the time until 2025 to make the necessary technical adjustments, e.g., establish barrier-free designs, optimize navigation structures, or introduce alternative options for operation.
- Get customer feedback: Use feedback from customers with disabilities to identify any barriers that may still exist. This allows you to make purposeful improvements and generate the best possible user experience for everybody.
Conclusion: Accessibility is an opportunity
The introduction of the accessibility requirements for products and services from June 2025 constitutes a great challenge for many Amazon sellers and other online sellers. But on the other hand, it is an opportunity as well: Companies that support accessibility from the start can gain a competitive edge because it enables them to address new target groups and establish their brands as inclusive and responsible.
Tackling the change in time, and regarding the statutory requirements as an opportunity instead of a tedious obligation, is the key to success. Designing your products and services to be accessible for everybody not only ensures your compliance with statutory provisions, but facilitates an equal shopping experience for all your customers as well.
Use the time until 2025 to bring your e-commerce platform up to speed for the future – and use accessibility as a means to advance your company.
Who wrote this article?
As an author, Christina fills the blog section of our website with exciting and informative articles, so that our readers can always take care of product compliance in their company in the most well-informed way.
