94% of Europe’s Top E-commerce Sites Have Inaccessible Checkout Journeys — Millions in lost sales across Europe

---

New Contentsquare Foundation report warns of massive digital exclusion: in 2025, more than 9 out of 10 e-commerce websites still fail to meet accessibility standards, now a legal requirement through the European Accessibility Act. A situation that prevents millions of Europeans from buying… and brands from selling.

Read the summary Download the report

Paris, November 19, 2025 – While 77% of Europeans shop online, nearly 100 million of them are unable to complete a purchase when using assistive technologies. According to the “Ecommerce Accessibility: 2025 Readiness Snapshot” (conducted across France, Germany, Italy, Spain, the UK and global marketplaces) released today by the Contentsquare Foundation, 94% of audited websites present major accessibility barriers that prevent users from navigating or completing payment

Despite the European Accessibility Act (EAA) taking effect in June 2025, the study finds the ecommerce sector is alarmingly unprepared. This failure creates a dual crisis: a social one, excluding over 100 million Europeans with disabilities from everyday online shopping, and an economic one, as companies miss out on a rapidly growing share of consumers.

“If users can’t complete a purchase, companies can’t make the sale,” said Marion Ranvier, Director of the Contentsquare Foundation. “Behind digital accessibility lies not only a human imperative of inclusion but also one of economic performance. Digital exclusion isn’t a marginal bug: it is a major barrier to growth and confidence.”

Jonathan Cherki, Founder and CEO of Contentsquare and President of the Contentsquare Foundation, added: “Accessibility is no longer a standalone issue, it’s a pillar of the customer experience. Brands that commit to it aren’t just checking a box, they are creating value — for everyone. The Contentsquare Foundation’s study clearly shows that every inaccessible interaction represents a lost experience. Now is the time to act together to make the web truly accessible to all.”

Key figures from the study

• 94% of audited websites scored below 7.5/10 on accessibility criteria.
• No European country exceeded 50% compliance with the audited WCAG 2.2 standards. Germany (4.7/10) and the UK (4.6/10) lead, while France (3.6/10) and Italy (3.0/10) trail behind.
• Product pages are the most exclusionary, scoring just 3.6/10, compared to 5.1/10 for payment pages. This shows inaccessibility affects the entire customer journey, from discovery to purchase.
• Forms show a 68% failure rate, due to missing labels, lack of autocomplete, or absent error indications.
• 59% of pages fail minimum contrast requirements, making them unreadable for many users with low vision or dyslexia.
• Websites with a published accessibility statement score 8 points higher on average (45% vs 37%).

A triple risk for businesses

Poor accessibility exposes companies to immediate financial, legal, and reputational risks.

• Financial: An inaccessible journey equals an abandoned cart. With average conversion rates stuck at 2–3%, users blocked by inaccessible checkouts translate into hundreds of millions in lost revenue every year.
• Legal: Since June 2025, the EAA mandates accessible purchasing and payment paths. Non-compliant businesses risk fines, collective lawsuits, or exclusion from public contracts. This applies to all businesses selling into or operating within the EU market.
• Reputational: In an era of CSR and transparency, excluding customers by design is both a moral and branding failure. Inaccessible brands risk being publicly called out, as already seen in the US through lawsuits targeting major e-commerce leaders.

Accessibility is therefore no longer just a UX concern, but a strategic driver of growth.

A systemic digital exclusion

Barriers multiply at every step of the shopping journey, from the first click to payment confirmation. The study, based on 250 pages from the 50 most-visited e-commerce sites in Europe, shows that obstacles appear as early as product search.

Product listing (PLP) and product detail (PDP) pages are the most exclusionary, with average scores of 3.6/10 and 3.4/10 respectively – scoring as low as 2.4/10 in France. These pages, often the entry point to a purchase, are unreadable for many visually impaired users or confusing for screen readers, preventing consumers from even reaching the checkout.

Cart, delivery, and payment pages perform slightly better (4.3/10, 4.4/10, and 5.1/10), but remain far from full compliance. The findings confirm that inaccessibility is structural, not local: the same recurring issues appear across countries and brands—unreadable buttons, poor contrasts, and unusable forms.

An encouraging sign: some major global marketplaces, often US-based, achieve scores close to 9/10, proving that accessibility at scale is not only possible but profitable when built into the design from the start.

Missing technical Foundations

The causes of overlooked accessibility are deep rooted, stretching all the way back to a webpage’s original code and starting long before users ever see the final design. The audit highlights four major categories of failure, rooted deep in a webpage’s code:

• Screen reader compatibility (76% failure rate): Many essential buttons and fields aren’t properly labeled, making them invisible to assistive technologies. A blind user might simply hear “button,” without knowing whether it means “Confirm order” or “Remove item.”
• Forms and input fields (68% failure rate): 77% of forms do not allow autofill (for address, card number, etc.), forcing manual entry—a major obstacle for users with visual, motor, or cognitive impairments.
• Visual accessibility (59% failure rate): Insufficient color contrast makes text and buttons illegible. 66% of payment pages rely solely on color (red/green) to indicate errors, excluding colorblind and low-vision users.
• Keyboard navigation (42% failure rate): Many users become “trapped” in pop-ups, unable to continue without a mouse. Focus indicators disappear or skip key elements, including the “Place Order” button.

Positive signs emerging

Progress is slow, but the EAA is having an effect. 62% of audited sites now publish a public accessibility statement, with 76% of those published after the June 2025 deadline. These sites score 8% higher on accessibility on average, reflecting stronger governance and oversight.

Furthermore, an analysis by Razorfish debunks the myth that accessibility limits creativity. Jean-Baptiste Burdin, Creative Director at Razorfish, says: “Too often, accessibility is seen as an aesthetic constraint. It’s quite the opposite: when considered from the design stage, it becomes a driver of creativity and innovation. Accessibility doesn’t diminish the experience; it makes it universal.”

The message is clear: digital inclusion is now a legal, social, and economic imperative. “Companies don’t need to rebuild everything,” adds Marion Ranvier. “They just need to start fixing what blocks users, and embed accessibility into their processes for good.”

Study methodology

Conducted between June 30 and July 31, 2025, this study was led by the Contentsquare Foundation, in collaboration with Temesis, Numerik-ea, Ipedis, and Razorfish. Teams audited 250 pages from the 50 most-visited e-commerce websites in Europe (France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and the UK), as well as five global marketplaces (Amazon, eBay, AliExpress, Temu, Etsy).

The analysis applied 15 WCAG 2.2 criteria across five key shopping stages (PLP, PDP, Cart, Delivery, Payment). Each page was scored out of 10 on average, based on compliant versus failed criteria. This study is not a full compliance audit, but rather offers a representative snapshot and comparative benchmark of across Europe’s leading consumer sites.