Retail – What disabled consumers choose to buy and why

Retail – What disabled consumers choose to buy and why

Introduction

The way we shop has changed and as a result, so has the high street. The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated a move that had already started to people shopping online rather than in-person.

Many people, however, still want the experience of going shopping and many retailers are responding by making it a great experience for shoppers that goes beyond a simple transaction – but are they making it an inclusive and accessible experience for everyone? Disabled and non-disabled consumers alike want the choice of being able to click to purchase from their own homes or phones and the option of being able to go in-store to browse.

Our research found that disabled consumers were often disappointed by being unable to find the information they needed before they could decide to buy.

Download the PDF for the full report.

Who is this for?

‘What disabled consumers choose to buy and why’ is for everyone involved in improving the experience of disabled consumers whether online, by phone or in-person. The findings will be useful for customer experience managers, customer service personnel, facilities and property managers and also for D&I and HR professionals responsible for attracting and hiring customer-service staff.

Methodology

Business Disability Forum (supported by Microsoft) commissioned Open Inclusion to gather business and consumer insights in the period from September 2021 to January 2022.

These insights were drawn from:

• Ten depth interviews with businesses were undertaken by Business Disability Forum amongst their Members and Partners.
• A quantitative survey of 1001 people. A quantitative survey carried out by Ipsos on behalf of the Business Disability Forum, interviewing 1,001 adults aged 18+ in Great Britain between 26 November and 5 December 2021. The survey was carried out to explore the differences in attitudes to decision making between disabled and non-disabled consumers. Disabled respondents self-selected their disability and included people with sensory, physical, neurodiverse, mental health, cognitive and long-term conditions and access needs related to aging. In total 457 respondents opted in to one or more of these. The data has been weighted to the known offline population proportions for age within gender, government office region, working status, social grade (and ethnicity in the UK).
• A qualitative and detailed online survey (241 respondents all with disabilities answered a 25-minute questionnaire).
• Focus groups of four separate 90-minute sessions facilitated by Open Inclusion.

View full research methodology.

Read more

See the rest of the sector-specific reports in this series:

• Banking and insurance
• Days out and leisure
• Holiday accommodation
• Hospitality
• Technology
• Utilities.

See the main report and detailed findings.