This document discusses inclusive design and its importance for businesses. It summarizes research on spending patterns that found households with disabled people spend less on education, public transport, and entertainment due to accessibility issues. A survey also found many respondents wanted to spend more in these areas if accessibility improved. The document outlines simple and low-cost ways for businesses to implement inclusive design for both physical and digital spaces, such as improving website navigation and timeouts. It promotes inclusive design as a way for businesses to better serve disabled customers and unlock the potential of the "purple pound".

1. The Future of Accessibility and Inclusive Design

2. The Future of Accessibility and Inclusive Design
The Big Hack and Purple Pound - Scope
Craig Moss
• Research Manager
• Scope
20 Nov | 11.30 AM
Anel Touchet
• Senior Economist
• Scope
20 Nov | 11.30 AM

3. The Future of Accessibility and Inclusive Design
The Big Hack:
Inclusive Design
Business Case
Anel Touchet, Senior Economist
Craig Moss, Research Manager

4. The Future of Accessibility and Inclusive Design
Inclusive Design for all
Aims
 Explore the business case for inclusive design
 Introduce the benefits of inclusive design, and the costs of inaccessible
design to businesses and society
 Demystify the implementation of inclusive design
 Offer ongoing resources and practical support to businesses and
designers

5. The Future of Accessibility and Inclusive Design
Inclusive Design for all
Why this is important?
 Inclusive design matters to everyone
 Relevant to businesses and all of wider society –
 including disabled people across the spectrum of disabilities
 An important part of ID is accessibility (both physical and digital)

6. The Future of Accessibility and Inclusive Design
Disability prevalence in regions of the UK
An untapped market
Region/Country
Millions
of
people
% of
people
North East 0.6 25
North West 1.6 23
Yorkshire and the
Humber
1.2 23
East Midlands 1.0 22
West Midlands 1.2 21
East of England 1.2 20
London 1.2 13
South East 1.7 20
South West 1.1 20
Wales 0.8 25
Scotland 1.2 23
Northern Ireland 0.4 21

7. The Future of Accessibility and Inclusive Design
An untapped market
Disabled people in the UK
• 1 in 5 people are disabled* in the UK
• 13.3 million disabled people
• 11 million households
• 40% of households have at least one disabled
person
Source: ONS, Family Resource Survey, 2017/18
*Equality Act 2010 definition

8. The Future of Accessibility and Inclusive Design
• Aggregate income
(after housing cost)
of households with
at least one disabled
person
• Proxy for purchasing
power
Purple Pound
An untapped market

9. The Future of Accessibility and Inclusive Design
Two research questions
1- How do households with disabled people spend?
2- What’s the role of ID and accessibility in spending decisions?
Mix of primary and secondary research
Research

10. The Future of Accessibility and Inclusive Design
 Quantitative research of secondary data
 Representative national datasets over 20k respondents
 Average weekly spend by categories, impairment types,
income, age and gender
 Compare spending patterns of households with disabled
people vs households without.
How do households with disabled people spend?
Inclusive design & spending decisions

11. The Future of Accessibility and Inclusive Design
Inclusive design & spending decisions

12. The Future of Accessibility and Inclusive Design
Underspend
1- Education (-65%)
2- Public Transport (-31%)
3- Entertainment (-25%)
4- Hotels and accommodations (-20%)
Overspend
1- Personal transport (+33%)
2- Personal care products &
services (+23%)
How do households with disabled people spend?
Inclusive design and spending decisions

13. The Future of Accessibility and Inclusive Design
 Co-designed the “Buying habits and your
disability” survey
 Panel of 234 disabled adults
 Representative of national population
 Isolate the impact of inaccessible design on
spending decisions
What’s the role of ID in spending decisions?
Inclusive design and spending decisions

14. The Future of Accessibility and Inclusive Design
• 18-20: 2% of respondents
• 20-34: 29%
• 35-49: 24%
• 50-64: 25%
• 65-74: 15%
• 75-84: 5%
• 85+: <1%
Survey demographic - age
Inclusive design and spending decisions

15. The Future of Accessibility and Inclusive Design
Impairment types
Mobility 45%
Dexterity 27%
Mental health 27%
Stamina, breathing, fatigue 26%
Vision 25%
Hearing 21%
Learning, understanding,
concentrating
17%
Memory 16%
Social/ behavioural 11%
Other 10%

16. The Future of Accessibility and Inclusive Design
 75 % of respondents
think businesses are
losing out
Do you think businesses are losing out by not having an
inclusive customer offer?
Inclusive design and spending decisions
I would like to spend more than I currently
do, but I can't because it's such a
laborious task. If websites/apps and
stores were more accessible,
then I’d spend more because I'd have no
restrictions. The PP is worth a lot,
but businesses don’t seem to realise this
and put the effort in to make their products
and websites accessible in order
to benefit from the purple pound."

17. The Future of Accessibility and Inclusive Design
Inclusive design and spending decisions
Top three responses:
 50% of respondents chose not
to buy the item
 48% found an alternative
provider to buy the item more
easily
 32% asked someone in their
household to complete the
purchase for them
Feedback about digital experiences

18. The Future of Accessibility and Inclusive Design
I really, really wanted to buy
tickets to go to the football
for a big match. The timeout
clock [on the website] kept
finishing before I did. It was
too hard. I ended up not
going.
There is an untapped
market. Most VI people
shop online, if websites
were more accessible, more
VI people would spend their
money and companies
would make more money

19. The Future of Accessibility and Inclusive Design
I really, really wanted to buy tickets
to go to the football for a big match.
The timeout clock [on the website]
kept finishing before I did. It was too
hard. I ended up not going.
Feedback about digital experiences

20. The Future of Accessibility and Inclusive Design
“In the past year, have you
had a poor in-person
experience in any of the
categories below because
your needs as a disabled
person were not met,
making it hard to use or
buy/justify those things?”
Feedback about offline
experiences
Inclusive design and spending decisions

21. The Future of Accessibility and Inclusive Design

22. The Future of Accessibility and Inclusive Design

23. The Future of Accessibility and Inclusive Design
 Households with disabled people
spend 65% less than their non-
disabled counterparts
 33 % would spend more on education
but are prevented to do so because of
accessibility issues
 Spending on education includes
school fees and trips, college and
university fees, conferences
Markets analysis – Education
Inclusive design and spending decisions
…if I was assured the
learning resources/course
was truly accessible, I
would be more likely to
partake in extra
education.”

24. The Future of Accessibility and Inclusive Design
 Households with disabled people
spend 31% less than counterparts
 On average, 22% want to spend
more on public transport but are
prevented to do so because of
accessibility issues
Markets analysis – Public Transport
Inclusive design and spending decisions
My worst experiences with
accessibility have been with
public transport… which is the
most important thing to
someone with a disability... I
would be happiest to spend
more money on if it was more
accessible.”

25. The Future of Accessibility and Inclusive Design
 Households with disabled people spend
25% less than counterparts
 67 % want to spend more on
entertainment but are prevented to do so
because of accessibility issues
Markets analysis –
Entertainment
Inclusive design and spending decisions

26. The Future of Accessibility and Inclusive Design
Source: Scope Intelligence
Unlocking the Purple Pound potential

27. The Future of Accessibility and Inclusive Design
In-person: Inclusive Design easy fixes
• Physical access – shop steps; wider aisles; accessible routes; lifts
• Paying experience – lower tills; payment access
• Store environment – noise levels; light levels; accessible zones
• Store support – staff training; shopper guides
• Accessible shopping sessions/events
Simple implementation of ID

28. The Future of Accessibility and Inclusive Design
Telephone: Inclusive Design easy fixes
• Navigation – less voice operated; less complicated menus
• Communication – speaking too fast; repeat information if necessary
• Assumptions – reading; slower speech
• Accessible services – training and support for text relay calls
• Flexibility – divert from the script; online offers available
Simple implementation of ID

29. The Future of Accessibility and Inclusive Design
Online: Inclusive Design easy fixes
• Text – clear language and font; colour contrasts
• Navigation – tabbing; larger buttons; alternatives to drag and drop
• Images – alternative text descriptions; CAPTCHA security
• Communication – captions; sign language
• Timeout – Remove time limits or allow the user to extend them
Simple implementation of ID

30. The Future of Accessibility and Inclusive Design
Online resources available from Scope
• Informed, inspire, implement, improve
• Resource library
• Business case and reporting tool
• Please sign up at: https://www.bighack.org/ @scopebighack
The Big Hack