How to Measure the Real ROI of Digital Accessibility (and Why 2026 Will Be a Turning Point)
A11ySolutions
And in 2026, with the European Accessibility Act fully enforceable and user expectations rapidly increasing, organisations that measure and optimise accessibility performance will see clear improvements in revenue, customer satisfaction and operational efficiency.
There is one question that marketing directors, product leads, CTOs and UX teams ask repeatedly:
“How do we actually measure the ROI of accessibility?”
This article explains the method we use at A11ySolutions to measure accessibility ROI with verifiable data, industry-specific metrics and a strong focus on business impact.
1. Accessibility DOES have ROI — and it’s measurable
Although accessibility has traditionally been framed as a compliance task, its commercial impact is tangible and direct.
Accessibility generates returns in three key areas:
1.1. Conversion in critical flows
Accessibility barriers create invisible points of friction that block users from completing essential tasks:
Forms that do not announce errors
Pop-ups blocking navigation
Inaccessible sliders
Filters that cannot be used by everyone
Buttons with no visible focus
Calendar/date pickers that do not communicate states
When these issues are resolved—often without redesigning the entire flow—we typically see:
+10–14% more bookings completed (hospitality)
+11% general conversion uplift (e-commerce retail)
–18–28% reduction in checkout or mid-funnel abandonment
These gains are consistent across industries in our 2-week Sprint 0 programmes.
1.2. Reduction of support and operational costs
Accessibility issues often show up as customer complaints:
“I can’t book”
“The form is not working”
“I cannot complete the payment”
“The site is confusing on mobile”
After accessibility-focused remediation:
Customer support tickets drop by 36–40%
Time-to-resolution improves
Operational teams regain hours of work per week
Fewer issues = lower costs and smoother operations.
1.3. Reduced legal and reputational risk
With the European Accessibility Act (EAA) in force since June 2025, organisations face:
Compliance requirements
Potential legal consequences
Audit scrutiny
Reputational damage
Costly urgent fixes
Accessibility ROI also includes risk avoided, especially when proactive measures prevent emergency remediation later.
2. The 5 KPIs that matter when measuring accessibility ROI
At A11ySolutions, we use a focused set of KPIs that demonstrate the concrete business impact of accessibility.
2.1. Task Success Rate (TSR)
This is the clearest measure of accessibility ROI:
How many users can complete a critical task before vs. after remediation?
Examples:
Completing a booking
Adding an item to the cart
Searching for availability
Completing checkout
Submitting registration forms
We always measure this KPI with a before/after approach.
2.2. Steps and time required to complete a task
Users abandon when a task takes too long or too many steps.
Accessibility barriers often create unnecessary friction:
Lost focus
Hidden errors
Inaccessible components
Confusing layouts
Low contrast
Fixing these issues shortens paths and increases completion rates.
2.3. Abandonment due to usability barriers
Many accessibility-related drop-offs are invisible in analytics because they do not trigger events.
Indicators include:
Sudden drops in step one
Rapid bounce without interaction
Users leaving after an unannounced error
Interactions that fail silently
Accessibility improvements reduce these hidden abandonments dramatically.
2.4. Support tickets related to usability or accessibility
This KPI is undervalued and extremely insightful.
When accessibility improves:
Customer complaints decrease
Ticket themes become clearer
Customer service workload drops
Response quality increases
Measuring tickets before and after remediation provides a strong view of ROI.
2.5. Verified compliance and traceability
The EAA and EN 301 549 require:
Documented evidence
Traceable processes
Regular testing
Consistent reporting
Compliance improves operational safety and reduces last-minute issues.
Measuring compliance progress is an essential part of ROI.
3. The A11ySolutions methodology: Measuring ROI in 4 weeks
Our approach combines technology (Detector Pro + A11iWidget) with a High-Performance Accessibility methodology validated through functional QA.
Week 1 — Diagnosis & Prioritisation
Focused audit across critical flows
Identification of components blocking conversion
Prioritisation based on business impact
Baseline metrics (before)
Screenshots & flow recordings
Week 2 — Remediation + QA
Fixes applied to components
Manual keyboard testing
Assistive technology checks
Validation of focus, contrast, roles and semantics
Week 3 — Detector Pro Integration
Automated evidence generation
Component-level traceability
CI/CD integration
Jira export for engineering
Week 4 — Measurement (After)
Updated task success rate
Conversion and abandonment comparison
Visual before/after documentation
Roadmap for continuous optimisation
This end-to-end process creates a transparent, verifiable ROI baseline.
4. Typical ROI results by industry
4.1. Hospitality (Hotels, Resorts, Travel Platforms)
Common results:
+14% more mobile bookings
–22% abandonment in “Guest Details”
Full WCAG 2.2 / EN 301 549 compliance
Fewer “I can’t book” complaints
4.2. Retail & E-commerce
Common results:
+11% conversion uplift
+16% mobile sales boost
Improved product discovery
Decreased checkout abandonment
4.3. Financial Services, Insurance, Banking
Common results:
Higher completion of complex forms
Reduced error rates
Stronger compliance posture
Better usability for vulnerable users
5. How to present accessibility ROI to your leadership team
Communicating ROI effectively is key to maintaining accessibility as a long-term strategy.
A strong accessibility ROI report includes:
5.1. Regulatory & risk context
Explain the relevance of EAA/WCAG/EN 301 549 clearly and concisely.
5.2. Before/After KPIs
Present only the metrics that impact business performance directly.
5.3. Visual evidence (screenshots)
Before/after comparisons are the strongest argument.
5.4. Annual impact projection
Estimate revenue gained + operational costs reduced.
5.5. High-Performance Accessibility roadmap
Includes:
Pattern libraries
Design guidelines
CI/CD integration
Continuous audit
Training for internal teams
6. Conclusion: Accessibility ROI is immediate, measurable and strategic
Organisations adopting High-Performance Accessibility will see improvements in:
Conversion and revenue
Direct booking or purchase rates
Customer satisfaction
Operational efficiency
Compliance readiness
Brand trust
Accessibility is no longer “compliance for compliance’s sake”.
It is a business accelerator.
In 2026 and beyond, accessibility will increasingly be seen not only as a legal requirement, but as a strategic investment with measurable ROI.
🔗 Want to calculate the ROI of your accessibility in less than 72 hours? Start here:
https://accesibilidadweb.a11ysolutions.com/
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