Black Friday and Cyber Monday - a great deal for all consumers?

As shopping season gets underway, consumers will be checking their emails and social channels to find the best online deals and bargain buys. But, as Jonathan Hassell, CEO at digital accessibility specialists Hassell Inclusion argues, marketers could be alienating a large proportion of customers who struggle in inaccessible digital environments.

I received the first of many ‘Black Friday Deals are Here!’ messages on 1 November. The season of shopping is very much upon us, with brands using various communications tactics to grab the attention of consumers eager to bag themselves the best festive bargains.

Online shopping has become ubiquitous with this time of year, with Cyber Monday now as much a notable date as Black Friday for driving time-limited demand for must-have products.

Of course, while time-limited sales are not unique to the holiday season, Black Friday and Cyber Monday are now global events, with millions of people all online at the same time trying to get the best deals before the offers disappear.

However, for those who have impairments and conditions that make it challenging to navigate the digital environment, the deluge of time-based messaging they are subjected to in the lead up to Christmas can be overwhelming. This could impact people with visual, cognitive or age-related impairments, reduced fine motor skills, or those who are neurodivergent.

Marketers could inadvertently be alienating a huge group of potential consumers who struggle to cope with the volume of communications, and find it stressful to navigate the way time-based offers are communicated to them.

So, during this intense period of consumer spending, getting digital accessibility right is vital – not least due to the significant commercial opportunity that comes from creating an accessible shopping environment for everyone. The Purple Pound estimates that the spending power of people with disabilities and their families is around £274 billion a year in the UK. Add to this the increasing spending power of older consumers, with over-65s expected to be spending 63p in every £1 by 2040, and those with accessibility issues represent a sizeable chunk of money to ignore in a tough economic climate.

Indeed, our research among older people found that one third (33%) said they had abandoned an online purchase due to difficulties in using a website or app.

Gaining an advantage with digital accessibility

Those marketers and digital teams who take the time to really think about the accessibility of their email communications, social media content, and the experience a user gets when they’re ready to shop on their website or mobile app, could arguably gain a significant advantage over their competitors.

This consideration also sends a positive message that your brand is making sure that everyone can get access to the same good prices.

Here are our top three tips to ensure your Black Friday, Cyber Monday and any future sales, deals or discount campaigns are as accessible as possible:

1. Consider how you communicate

We know that the whole point of pre- and post-Christmas sales is that they are time-limited, and that marketers want to create urgency around the products they are selling.

However, this pressurised environment could be too much for certain groups of consumers, especially those with autism, dyslexia or anxiety, which means including strict time restrictions in a campaign could cause an accessibility issue.

This is where carefully nuanced language can make a real difference. For example, instead of ‘buy now or miss out!’, language such as ‘shop our exclusive offers today’ could encourage more people with disabilities, those with the general impairments associated with ageing, and those who are neurodivergent, to click on your link and visit your website or app.

2. Design for accessibility

When a potential customer reaches your website or app, the choice of colours, fonts and imagery could be key to winning or losing customers. While bold choices of colour for calls-to-action can attract the eye, they can be off-putting for people who are sensitive to bright colours. 

People with visual impairments struggle with low contrast text, and those on the autistic spectrum may be put off by too many images, so it’s best to use white space to let things breathe. You also need to ensure that alt-text is on all images related to deals and discounts so blind consumers using screen readers don’t miss out on offers (something which has been the cause of legal cases in the past).

So, if you are considering banners or pop ups as part of your seasonal campaigns, it is important to consider the accessibility requirements of all consumers.

Similarly, be careful with your choice of fonts. Handwritten fonts may look fantastic but can be difficult for many people to read. So, if you must use them, limit them to non-essential information.

Finally, another benefit of accessible design is that it can improve your SEO if you use closed captions on videos and use clear and simple headings.

3. Focus on user experience across all digital channels

Digital accessibility can mean different things for different people, across multiple user touch points. And, importantly, it goes beyond ‘just websites’.

For example, as well as your website or app, customers could come into contact with your Black Friday communications through digital adverts, social media channels, emails and online vouchers, and even through digital touch points in your stores, such as kiosks and self-checkouts.

During times of peak demand, it is important that all these things are accessible, to ensure a smooth end-to-end user experience, and to make sure no-one feels excluded from deals.

Ensuring an accessible shopping season

Embedding digital accessibility in your marketing and communications can pay dividends. As well as the potential for higher customer revenue, it can increase brand loyalty and improve your company’s reputation.

So, when you are considering a Black Friday offer, a Cyber Monday deal or a Boxing Day sale, ask the question: are we making this accessible to all? Given the spending power of disabled, neurodivergent and older consumers, can you afford not to?