Black Friday and Cyber Monday: why accessibility could be your biggest sales advantage

18 min read

Black Friday and Cyber Monday (BFCM) are make-or-break moments for many businesses. In 2024, UK shoppers spent a whopping £3.63 billion online across Black Friday and Cyber Monday. Globally, sales run into the trillions.

But here’s a scary fact: if your website isn’t accessible, a significant chunk of that spend will never reach you, and it’ll go to your competitors instead.

Research shows UK businesses collectively lose £17.1 billion a year because shoppers using assistive technology abandon websites that don’t work for them. During BFCM alone, that translates into nearly £446 million in lost revenue.

That’s almost half a billion pounds walking out the door in one weekend.

How much revenue can your business lose on Black Friday and Cyber Monday?

It’s easy to dismiss numbers in the billions as “someone else’s problem”. But let’s zoom in.

If your business turns over £20 million a year, BFCM can account for up to 15% of annual online sales, with some businesses reporting that over 50% of their yearly sales happen across BFCM and the holiday period. That means you could be taking in £3-£4 million over just one long weekend.

Now imagine your product pages are inaccessible to just 2% of your customers. That’s a £60,000 - £80,000 loss in a single weekend. And that’s a conservative calculation: research shows 10–15% of customers often click away because of accessibility barriers.

At that level, you could be looking at £300,000–£600,000 in lost revenue - all within 48 hours.

And the damage doesn’t stop there. Accessibility problems don’t just cost you one sale, they cost you repeat sales, loyalty, and lifetime value.

Why customers with access needs stay loyal to accessible brands

Disabled shoppers are among the most loyal customers online - provided you serve them well. The research is crystal clear:

Accessibility doesn’t just protect your BFCM sales, it earns you loyalty year-round.

And these customers are “power shoppers” too. 50% of consumers who use assistive technology shop online weekly (vs 22% of the general population). They often consolidate purchases with brands they trust. Once you win them, they stay. Once you lose them, they rarely come back.

The long-term revenue impact of inaccessible websites

The true cost of inaccessibility isn’t one failed transaction - it’s losing a customer for life.

Think of a parent who can’t apply your BFCM discount code with a screen reader. Or an older customer who can’t resize your product page. They don’t just abandon that basket, they remember the frustration. Next time, they go straight to your competitor.

And because disabled shoppers often share recommendations within communities, losing one customer can mean losing many. Accessibility problems compound into long-term revenue erosion.

Why older online shoppers increase the need for accessibility

Accessibility isn’t just about the 22% of UK consumers who report a disability. It’s also about the fast-growing ageing population.

Older shoppers control a disproportionate amount of disposable income. In the US, baby boomers control 70% of household wealth. UK patterns are similar. They’re heavy online shoppers, but they increasingly rely on larger text, intuitive navigation, and voice input.

If your BFCM campaign isn’t accessible, you’re turning away your wealthiest demographic.

Case studies: revenue growth from accessible websites

The revenue upside of accessibility is proven, and speaks for itself.

  • A Forrester study found that every $1 invested in accessibility can yield up to $100 in benefits, encompassing improved revenue, reduced support costs, and better brand reputation. (TestParty via Forrester’s findings)
  • Accessibility boosts search engine performance and reduces maintenance overhead - making your site easier for you and your customers. (W3C Business Case for Accessibility)
  • Even small e-commerce businesses benefit: one analysis shows a mere 0.4% increase in conversion rates from fixing accessibility barriers, amounting to $16.8 billion in global e-commerce gains across holiday periods. (Netguru on global impact)

These stories are not outliers. They show that accessibility isn’t just a moral or compliance box to tick, but it’s a smart business choice with measurable returns for businesses of all sizes.

E-commerce sales are doubling - and accessibility will decide who wins

Global e-commerce isn’t slowing down. According to Morgan Stanley research, the e-commerce market is expected to nearly double by 2026. By that measure, 27% of all retail sales will be online purchases.

The growth of e-commerce is proof that the way people shop has fundamentally changed. Without improved accessibility, customers with access needs risk being left behind. These are the very shoppers who stand to benefit most from the convenience of online retail - but unless websites work for them, they’re excluded from what is rapidly becoming everyday life.

For businesses, the takeaway is simple: as e-commerce grows, the cost of ignoring accessibility multiplies.

5 simple ways to make the most of Black Friday and Cyber Monday with accessibility checks

The good news is that you don’t need to be an accessibility expert to spot the biggest issues before November. A simple round of testing can reveal whether customers will be able to buy during your busiest sales weekend.

Here’s a quick checklist you can try today:

  1. Do a no-mouse test. Put your mouse aside and try to complete a purchase with just the keyboard (Tab, Shift+Tab, Enter, Space). If you can’t, neither can your customers.
  2. Check your discount code box. Can a screen reader pick up its label? If not, customers won’t be able to claim your BFCM offers.
  3. Open and close your popups. Do they trap you? Can you close them with Escape? Many shoppers will abandon your site if a promo banner blocks them.
  4. Resize text. Zoom your browser to 200%. Does the layout still work? If it breaks, so will the sale.
  5. Run a free screen reader test. VoiceOver (on iPhone/Mac) or NVDA (on Windows) are enough to catch serious issues. Try searching, adding to basket, and checking out.

These five steps won’t uncover everything, but they’ll give you a good start to show you whether customers with access needs can complete the journey.

Accessible websites convert more sales on Black Friday and Cyber Monday

Every year, businesses pour money into advertising, discounts, and promotions for Black Friday and Cyber Monday. But if your website isn’t accessible, a portion of that spend goes straight to your competitors - because customers arrive, try to buy, and then leave.

The question isn’t whether customers with access needs will shop during Black Friday and Cyber Monday. They will. The question is: will they shop with you, or with someone else?

Accessibility isn’t just about preventing lost revenue. It’s one of the most effective ways to increase your Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales. If you want to make the most of the biggest shopping weekend of the year, make sure every customer can complete their purchase.

Start fixing accessibility today - it could be the difference between record sales or record losses this Black Friday and Cyber Monday