Beyond Compliance The Business Case for Accessibility by Industry

Today, digital accessibility is more than a compliance requirement—it’s a business advantage. Digital experiences are now the primary way that people interact with brands, and the accessibility of these touchpoints impacts outcomes like customer trust, market reach, and resilience.

Even so, many Digital and Product leaders struggle to align accessibility with organizational strategy and measurable business outcomes. As a result, accessibility programs find their success limited by inadequate resources and siloed accountability. So, how exactly does digital accessibility fuel business success?

To better understand the connection between inclusive design and core business objectives, we hosted a webinar with guest speaker Gina Bhawalkar, Principal Analyst at Forrester, about the case for accessibility across industries. This blog recaps key takeaways from our conversation.

The business value of accessibility across industries

Many organizations begin their accessibility journey to mitigate legal risk. But to sustain and scale their progress, accessibility leaders need to tie their work to broader strategic goals. Bhawalkar uses the term “Compliance Plus” to describe this recognition that accessibility is not just about risk reduction, but an engine for business momentum.

“To make accessibility a competitive differentiator, you need a business case that goes beyond compliance with global regulations. Compliance is the foundation, but successful program leaders pair compliance with additional value, telling what we call a ‘Compliance Plus’ story.”
– Gina Bhawalkar, Principal Analyst, Forrester

According to Bhawalkar, accessibility drives measurable impact across four dimensions: revenue growth, cost reduction, organizational resilience, and customer trust. If you’re advocating to expand buy-in and budget for accessibility at your organization, which dimensions you focus on may vary based on your industry. The following talking points can help you get started.

Financial services: Accessibility as a purpose-driven investment

For financial services providers, brand values matter. According to the Forrester Priorities Survey 2025, 51% of business and technology professionals in the industry say that “financial well-being” is their top investment priority for the year ahead. Accessibility directly supports this goal: by ensuring that the services necessary to achieve financial well-being, such as digital banking, insurance, and investing, are available to all users, organizations can empower more customers to achieve financial stability.

Beyond reinforcing financial services providers’ missions, removing barriers to access helps these organizations strengthen trust and loyalty among the aging population and people with disabilities—valuable customer groups in a competitive market.

Retail and e-commerce: Accessibility as a driver of growth

In retail, accessibility is a revenue opportunity. Retailers that invest in barrier-free experiences increase their market share by opening their doors to the disability community, which includes 1.3 billion people worldwide. They further expand their reach to the aging population—760 million people globally—and the 3.3 billion friends and family members of people with disabilities, many of whom prefer to shop with inclusive brands.

But that’s not all—retailers that proactively invest in accessibility also strengthen their brand image, boost customer satisfaction, and improve usability for all shoppers—a phenomenon often referred to as the “curb-cut effect.”

“If you are a retail or e-commerce organization, lean into the revenue opportunity associated with digital accessibility. Tell the story of compliance plus increasing revenue by winning new markets, creating differentiation, attracting values-driven customers, and deepening relationships with current customers.”
– Gina Bhawalkar

Software and technology: Accessibility as a differentiator in procurement

For B2B software providers, accessibility is increasingly a contract requirement. Many procurement teams now evaluate digital accessibility during purchasing decisions, requesting documentation such as Voluntary Product Accessibility Template (VPAT®) reports and accessibility roadmaps.

According to Bhawalkar, that means software companies hoping to win contracts need to be prepared to answer “tough questions,” such as whether they have an accessibility policy and how they’re integrating accessibility into product design and development. She anticipates that software vendors will receive even more questions like this from current and potential clients as accessibility adoption continues to grow. In summary, “continuing to be a vendor of choice for certain businesses means committing to accessibility.”

Healthcare: Accessibility as a driver of efficiency and resilience

In healthcare, accessibility is essential to providing quality care—and customers aren’t satisfied with the status quo. According to research by Forrester, 90% of insured U.S. adults want clearer communications from their health insurers. Content accessibility plays a critical role in effective communication: by using plain language and designing accessible interfaces, providers ensure every customer gets the information they need about their coverage and care. And accessible communication doesn’t just help users: healthcare organizations reduce the costs associated with fielding calls from confused customers.

“In the healthcare space, the business case for accessibility often surrounds cost reduction. By lessening the incidence of customer complaints, providers can minimize call center costs and the costs of remediation.”
– Bhawalkar

As the global population gets older, with more individuals aging into disability, prioritizing accessibility will also help healthcare providers build long-term resilience.

Proving progress through reporting

Making a compelling business case for accessibility—one that goes beyond compliance—is a critical step toward securing resources for your program. But once you’ve made your case, it’s equally important to demonstrate how your efforts are fueling progress toward higher-level business goals. In short, you need to show leaders their investment is paying off.

Reporting tools like the Level Access Reporting Agent meet this need by helping you turn accessibility data into a clear narrative aligned with your organization’s unique objectives. Drawing insights from data across the Level Access Platform, the Reporting Agent transforms raw findings into custom, leadership-ready reports tailored to your audience.

By making accessibility progress measurable and visible, you can gives leaders the data they need to justify their investment, while providing your teams with validation that their work is making a real, quantifiable impact.

Turning commitment into capability

Ready to scale an accessibility program that powers measurable results? For more than 25 years, Level Access has helped organizations across industries turn commitment into capability. Our Hybrid Intelligence solution combines an integrated platform with AI agents and human expertise to help organizations build sustainable accessibility programs that deliver results.

Whether you’re aiming to reduce legal risk, improve user experience, or strengthen brand reputation, Level Access provides the guidance, tools, and partnership to achieve sustainable accessibility. Request a demo today to learn how we can help you harness accessibility as a competitive advantage.

Frequently asked questions

1. How does accessibility deliver business value beyond compliance?

Accessibility supports every dimension of business performance. It drives revenue by expanding market reach and improving customer retention; reduces costs by minimizing remediation, legal risk, and support overhead; and strengthens brand reputation and trust. For organizations that sell to enterprises or public-sector clients, accessibility is also becoming a prerequisite for procurement.

2. What are the most common barriers to achieving accessibility at scale?

The main barriers include limited resources, siloed accountability, and lack of integrated processes for monitoring and governance. Many organizations struggle to maintain consistency across digital portfolios. Addressing these challenges requires a combination of strong governance, clear ownership, role-based training, and end-to-end tools for managing accessibility efficiently.

3. How can I build a business case for increased investment in accessibility?

The most compelling cases connect accessibility outcomes to core business goals—such as customer satisfaction, employee productivity, risk reduction, and operational efficiency. Leaders should communicate success through data that highlights accessibility’s role in improving user experience, reducing costs, and unlocking new opportunities, rather than relying solely on compliance metrics.