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Jul 02 2019 
Accessibility guide: Do you have an accessibility statement?
Image: Mateusz Dach from Pexels
We’ve developed an accessibility guide for Take it away retailers which is designed to give you the confidence to make your shop, website, and promotional activity accessible and inclusive for all.
In this extract, we talk about why you should consider writing an Accessibility Statement for your website.Research shows that 95% of disabled people search for information about accessibility online before visiting a venue for the first time.
For this reason, we ask all Take it away retailers to include key information about accessibility on their website. This can be in the form of a short statement outlining if your shop is accessible for people with limited mobility and highlighting any barriers customers may face when visiting.
Being transparent about accessibility in your shop makes it easier for people to plan and make an informed decision about their visit.In your Accessibility Statement, you could include information such as:
- How visitors can reach your premises, (e.g public transport routes or walking distances)
- If accessible car parking is available
- If your shop has step-free access or is wheelchair accessible
- If you sell special products or adaptive music instruments that are sold as being accessible
- If you adapt standard instruments to make them accessible where necessary
- If you have hearing loops / audio induction loops
- If you have accessible facilities, such as toilets or adult changing facilities
- If service animals are welcome (and water bowls are available)
- Contact details of how people can get in touch if they have any questions
The statistics below show why it is worth integrating accessibility into your business activity. It can help you to attract new customers, secure customer loyalty, and ensure you are reaching the widest possible audience.
22%Percentage of the UK population who identify as disabled (13.9 million people)
95%Percentage of disabled people who search a venue’s accessibility info online before visiting
1
Money lost every month by inaccessible high street shops
Read more extracts from the Accessibility Guide
Making Your Shop More Accessible
There are a few ways that you can make a customer’s visit to your shop a comfortable and enjoyable experience. We explore what it takes to make a retail premises more accessible for your customers.Read more
Accessible Marketing Communications
How you market and communicate your shop can help improve its overall accessibility. From getting involved in campaigns like Purple Tuesday or producing information in alternative formats, there are many ways you can help create a more inclusive shopping experience for all your customers. Read more
Making Events More Accessible
Workshops and events, such as involvement in Learn to Play Day, are a great way of attracting new potential customers. Make sure you are attracting as wide an audience as possible. Read more
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Jul 02 2019 
Accessibility guide: Accessible Marketing Communications
We’ve developed an accessibility guide for Take it away retailers which is designed to give you the confidence to make your shop, website, and promotional activity accessible and inclusive for all. In this extract, we explore how you can market your shop to help improve its overall accessibility.
Depending on your existing customer base or target audience, you may want to consider producing information in alternative formats such as audio, braille, large print, telephone support for blind and visually impaired, British Sign Language, textphone for the deaf and hearing impaired, and easy read guides for support workers and carers.
It is always important to ensure that any printed text you produce for customers is clear and easy to read:
- Ideally, use at least font size 14 for written documents
- Left align the main body of text
- Keep the formatting consistent
- Break up the text into manageable chunks
- Keep the information concise and easy to navigate with distinct headings
- Use Sans Serif fonts such as Arial, Calibri or Verdana
- Avoid using italics, underlining text or writing entirely in upper case
- Avoid using single line spacing where possible
- Keep the text free of hard words and jargon
When working on content for your website, you should apply the same writing principles as recommended for print, but bear in mind that some people use screen readers to navigate a website. To make it easier for them, your website should provide the full description of a link instead of using ‘click here’ links, avoid having large blank spaces on your website and provide ‘alt’ text to describe images.
The statistics below show why it is worth integrating accessibility into your business activity. It can help you to attract new customers, secure customer loyalty, and ensure you are reaching the widest possible audience.
22%Percentage of the UK population who identify as disabled (13.9 million people)
95%Percentage of disabled people who search a venue’s accessibility info online before visiting
1
Money lost every month by inaccessible high street shops
Read more extracts from the Accessibility Guide
Your Accessibility Statement
The key information you should include about accessibility on your website. This can be in the form of a short statement outlining if your shop is accessible for people with limited mobility and highlighting any barriers customers may face when visiting. Read more
Making Your Shop More Accessible
There are a few ways that you can make a disabled customer’s visit to your shop a more comfortable and enjoyable experience. Read more
Making Events More Accessible
Workshops and events, such as involvement in Learn to Play Day, are a great way of attracting new potential customers. Make sure you are attracting as wide an audience as possible. Read more
Download the Accessibility Guide
Accessibility guide
(pdf download)
