Testing native mobile accessibility at a scale is not an easy task as it needs mostly manual testing (there are some solutions to automate parts of tests, but they can be expensive or need human interpretation). So – finding quality native mobile app data on accessibility is not an easy task. Last year I made a contribution for Universal Design 2024 conference – measuring inaccessibility of Norwegian banking native mobile applications and I know how much time and effort is needed, so kudos to ArcTouch and Fable on their State of Mobile App Accessibility (opens in new window).
They didn’t use WCAG or EN 301 549 directly to evaluate and focused on their own selection of 14 different accessibility attributes that were used to generate an app accessibility score. Using different screen reader checks, alternative navigation tests, font scaling check and screen orientation check as their focus makes sense for end user perspective – especially for people with disabilities that use assistive technologies and built-in accessibility features. I like their selection of “criteria” that can easily also be “translated” to WCAG if needed, but making it a bit easier for both testing and interpretation.
I also support not naming names – I also decided to do that in my Universal Design 2024 research – the intention should be to measure current state and increase awareness, so that stakeholders will be more aware and hopefully (finally) care about accessibility more.
Some interesting parts
They tested 50 apps across 5 industries (fitness, food and delivery, payments, shopping and streaming), and as my title implies – shopping had most issues. As a matter of fact – 72% of all user journeys tested included serious accessibility barriers).
Usually we see iOS apps a bit more accessible than Android, but they observed the opposite – Android apps slightly more accessible than iOS apps. They noted that it has to do with some iOS apps that were having very poor scores, so it seems to be the case of randomness when selecting the apps. A larger scale test would (I speculate based on my own experiences) perhaps show that iOS apps are better.
They observed a well known issue – as we often see in all accessibility testing – Name, Role and Value of elements is often neglected. This is a clear indication of missing awareness, as it can be quickly verified and sometimes developers even get automatic warnings in their code editing tools that they need to actively ignore.
Missing headings, lack of dynamic font support, unlabelled icons and improperly grouped elements are also indicative on the lack of awareness and knowledge, not a surprise at all.
Shopping apps leaving money on the table
This title in the report should really open some minds of stakeholders in e-commerce and shopping and I still have not given up on this idea of advocating for this at any chance I get. I still don’t understand why people don’t understand this simple and logical fact – if you don’t make your apps (or websites) accessible you are basically saying no to people that want to spend money with you.
After you invest in making the platforms work, in the A/B testing, in marketing, sales, advertising, features and thousand of other tasks – and are happy with tiny fractures of percents when it comes to conversion rate optimization – why can’t you recognize the potential of allowing people to actually buy from you. I guess stakeholders still don’t really know about the positive effects of accessibility and obviously even ignore the potential legal implications.
We all need to make sure people finally understand that inaccessible products and services lead to leaving people out, discriminating them, and that accessibility is not only the right thing to do – it is also good for society and good for business.
Please read the State of Mobile App Accessibility (opens in new window) and you will find a lot of valuable insights, very user oriented, even if you are not very familiar with accessibility.
Even if you don’t have any real plans to implement accessibility, I am certain that you will recognize that if you stop blocking groups of people out can not even save you money, improving user experience for all users and raise your brand over all others that are competing with you and don’t care about accessibility (actually people).
