Zoovu, a leader in AI powered ecommerce product discovery, marked Global Accessibility Awareness Day by announcing its platform has recently released new tools and capabilities that allow enterprise ecommerce companies to create product discovery experiences that comply with level AA of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1.
Today, 27 percent of the population in the United States have accessibility challenges, according to the Center for Disease Control (CDC). Yet, more than 45% of major ecommerce sites fail to comply with ADA requirements and 96.3% had a detectable WCAG failure, according to the Bureau of Internet Accessibility’s 2023 State of Ecommerce Accessibility. While this deficiency in accessibility means millions of consumers don’t have the proper access to shop online, it has also led to a 43% year-over-year increase in accessibility lawsuits, according to data from UsableNet.
“When you consider that more of our lives are digital, it’s clear that ensuring accessibility is more than following the law. It’s just the right thing to do,” said Bryan Gould, director, National Center for Accessible Media, a non-profit helping to drive accessibility standards and compliance.
Millions of people interact with Zoovu’s product discovery experiences every year, which is why helping brands create accessible ways to shop has been part of the company’s DNA since day-one. This new round of capabilities ensures online businesses have all the tools they need to build product discovery experiences that meet ADA compliance requirements.
These new features include making it easier to provide live video and audio captions, 4.5-to-1 contrast ratios to ensure text is readable by those who may have color blindness, up to 200% text resizing, and simpler navigation with consistent menus and buttons. For online buyers, Zoovu’s AA level of compliance reduces cognitive load and enhances understanding for users with diverse abilities.
Zoovu is known for managing massive and complex collections of product information, frequently changing content and product pages, chat assistant dialogs, and complex ecommerce functionality. This experience enables the company to have a deeper understanding of the ways frequent website changes can inadvertently disrupt the customer’s online experience and result in a violation of ADA compliance.
“For over a decade, Zoovu has been powering ADA-compliant customer experiences for the world’s leading B2B and B2C brands in retail and manufacturing,” said Jonathan Taylor, chief technology officer at Zoovu. “Our next level certification allows any business that sells its products online to set themselves apart by empowering every consumer to discover the right products. This focus on inclusivity creates bonds with customers that lead to much stronger long-term relationships.”