Online Shopping: Designing an Accessible Experience
Summary
Online shopping was first premiered in the 1980s, as a way for people who couldn’t shop in-person to easily make purchases. But how far we’ve come! In this talk, Fable’s Accessibility Evangelist Sam Proulx will walk you through some of the key factors to create an online shopping experience that is accessible to everyone. From his perspective as a full time screen reader user, and drawing on Fable’s thousands of hours working with people with disabilities, Sam will highlight how consistency, convenience, confidence, and customizability enable a smooth experience for all users, disabled or not. Let’s bring online shopping back to its accessibility roots!
Key Insights
-
•
Consistency in layout and interaction reduces cognitive load for all users, especially those with disabilities.
-
•
Convenience features like browser autofill significantly ease form completion for users with physical disabilities.
-
•
Confidence in secure, predictable checkout processes is critical to prevent users with disabilities from abandoning purchases.
-
•
Customization allows users to tailor experiences to their unique disability needs, improving accessibility.
-
•
Offering multiple payment providers increases accessibility by providing alternatives if one option is unusable.
-
•
Timed session interactions should allow extensions to avoid penalizing users who need more time, supporting accessibility and security simultaneously.
-
•
Accessible experiences designed for edge cases end up benefiting all users, enhancing overall user satisfaction.
-
•
Automated accessibility testing tools identify code issues but cannot fully capture real-world user experience problems.
-
•
Involving people with disabilities across all stages of design and development is key to building truly accessible products.
-
•
Lack of accessibility not only frustrates disabled users but can cause significant business loss through customer attrition.
Notable Quotes
"Accessible experiences are better experiences for everyone whether you are a person with a disability or not."
"If it didn’t come from Amazon or Costco, I probably don’t own it because I know the experience will be consistent."
"Consistency reduces cognitive load not just for screen reader users but for people with ADHD and other cognitive challenges."
"Browser autofill isn’t just convenience; it removes barriers to purchase for people with physical disabilities."
"Offering the ability to save your progress allows users with disabilities to complete tasks on their own time."
"Lack of confidence caused by unlabeled or difficult controls often leads assistive tech users to give up on purchases."
"The more payment providers you offer, the higher the chance everyone can pick what works best for them."
"Accessible foundations are built by involving voices of people with disabilities from ideation to prototyping to launch."
"There isn’t necessarily a conflict between security and accessibility; it’s a matter of thoughtful design."
"People with disabilities often won’t ask for help; they simply go to an accessible competitor instead."
Or choose a question:
More Videos
"If diversity alone made research inclusive, then police could never be anti-black because they include black officers."
Victor UdoewaBeyond Methods and Diversity: The Roots of Inclusion
March 26, 2024
"We often use radio buttons when check boxes or sliders would reveal the truth."
Peter MorvilleThe Architecture of Understanding
May 13, 2015
"Ask yourself, who is not included in this future? Be self-reflexive to reduce bias."
Sam LadnerHow Research Can Drive Strategic Foresight
March 9, 2022
"AI can help us cut through noise and speed up the so-what part of insights but can’t replace human knowledge of strategy and customers."
Michelle Bejian Lotia Anne-Marie MorellRolling Out a Repository: How Zapier Centralizes Insights from Across their Organization
March 28, 2023
"One researcher per team for at least three days a week was considered an outrageous luxury at GDS in 2013."
Leisa ReicheltOpening Keynote: Operating in Context
November 7, 2018
"Backcast from preferred or risky futures to start thinking about what we need to do today to get there or avoid that outcome."
Sarah GallimoreInspire Progress with Artifacts from the Future
November 18, 2022
"This is real serious analysis, not pre-prepared or fake data."
Joerg Beringer Thomas GeisScaling User Research with AI: Continuous Discovery of User Needs in Minutes
September 10, 2025
"Organize your product managers, designers, and engineers around customers, not features or code repositories."
Peter MerholzCustomer-Centered Design Organizations
June 8, 2017
"Telling the right story means creating a memorable shorthand that leaders can reference when they're at other tables."
Dalia El-ShimySo You've Got a Seat at the Table. Now What?
March 31, 2020
