Global Top 250 Retailers / UK Retail 500 scoring poorly for accessibility

20 Sep 2019 | Index | Accessibility | Private sector

Adam Turner
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At Sitemorse we published both our 2019 Q3 Global Top 250 Retailers INDEX and UK Retail 500 INDEX results this week. The results of the INDEX have been published quarterly for over 10 years and rank the retailers’ websites based on User Experience, Search Engine Optimisation and Governance, Risk and Compliance. 

For the Global Top 250 Retailers, congratulations go to the Co-operative Group for retaining first place for the 10th consecutive quarter. Also, congratulations are due to Intermarche for being the most improved. 

For the UK Retail 500, congratulations go to HI Weldrick for taking first place. Also, congratulations are due to Jacamo for being the most improved.

Accessibility Statistics

If we focus purely on Accessibility, then there are some rather disappointing statistics:

Global Top 250 Retailers

UK Retail 500

  • No companies scored 8 or higher
  • 84% of companies scored 3 or less
  • Over 46% actually scored zero
  • No companies scored 8 or higher
  • Nearly 92% of companies scored 3 or less
  • Over 67% actually scored zero

Making websites accessible is law - in the US there is the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and in the UK the Equalities Act 2000.

We’ve already seen that in the US that lawsuits alleging web sites discriminating against people with disabilities are increasingly common. A case against Winn-Dixie is believed to be the first to go to a full trial – a trial that Winn-Dixie lost!. As the growth of on-line retail shows no signs of abating, the industry would seem to be easy targets. – how long will it be before we see aggressive litigation happening in the UK? 

Top ten websites

Global Top 250 Retailers

UK Retail 500

  1. Co-operative Group
  2. Gruppo Pam SPA
  3. British Home Stores
  4. Dansk Supermarked A/S
  5. SPAR Österreich
  6. Laviva
  7. Axfood
  8. Gome Home Appliance Group
  9. Bauhaus
  10. Stater Bros
  1. HI Weldrick
  2. Greggs
  3. Coop Online
  4. W Boyes & Co
  5. Forrest Furnishing
  6. Crew Clothing
  7. Jane Shilton
  8. Netto Foodstores
  9. Londis
  10. Findel
 

Five most improved websites

Global Top 250 Retailers

UK Retail 500

  • Intermarche
  • The Bon-Ton Stores
  • Laviva
  • FDB (Coop Danmark AS)
  • Delhaize Group
  • Jacamo
  • Feather & Black
  • Austin Reed Group
  • Viyella
  • Disney Store
 

The full 2019 Q3 Global Top 250 Retailers results can be found here:Sitemorse Global Top 250 Retailers INDEX

The full 2019 Q3 UK Retail 500 results can be found here: Sitemorse UK Retail 500 INDEX