24 October 2006

Retailers will benefit financially from making their websites as accessible as possible, web consultants have claimed.

By ensuring high standards of accessibility, companies will be opening their services to a wider range of consumers, the experts told Inc. magazine.

"So as far as accessibility goes, it's an implied obligation for online retailers … but one that's good for business," Ms Colbert remarked.

Kathy Wahlbin, the director of user experience services at Mindshare Interactive Campaigns, a US e-commerce consultancy, echoed these sentiments, claiming that having an accessibility audit conducted will improve a website.

"What they need to know is how a blind person uses a website, how it sounds to them and how that's different from other users," she asserted.

The experts commented in the wake of a court ruling last month, in which major US retailer Target was found guilty of breaching the law by offering inadequate services for blind Internet users.

Following the ruling against Target, Dr Marc Maurer, president of the National Federation of the Blind, said: "This ruling is a great victory for blind people throughout the country."

© Adfero Ltd

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