The European Accessibility Act: Creating a more inclusive consumer experience

With less than 1 month to go until the requirements of the EU Accessibility Act (the EAA) come into full force and effect, retailers, consumer brands and hospitality providers should ensure they are ready for the changes.

Background

Over one quarter of the European Union (the EU)'s population is understood to be affected by a form of disability.¹ Many of these individuals will experience challenges accessing day-to-day products and services that others take for granted because of the divergence in national accessibility legislation across the region. To address this disparity and to increase accessibility in the EU, the EU Commission has introduced the EAA, stipulating that accessibility should be achieved through "the systematic removal and prevention of barriers, preferably through a universal design or ‘design for all’ approach, which contributes to ensuring access for persons with disabilities on an equal basis with others."

Functioning as a minimum harmonisation directive, the EAA was first introduced in 2019 and set baseline accessibility requirements for in-scope products and services. Member States transposed these requirements into national legislation (with the option to introduce more rigorous measures if they wish) in 2022, and provisions are now due to come into full force and effect on 28 June 2025. The UK has not yet introduced equivalent legislation, however, this does not prevent UK-based companies from being affected by the broad scope of the EAA if operating within the EU.

Who and what is caught by the EAA?

The accessibility obligations of the EAA bite where an organisation acts as an "economic operator". In the context of the EAA, this would include where an organisation acts as a manufacturer, authorised representative, importer, distributor, or service provider in relation to an in-scope product placed on the market and/or service made available to EU consumers. As mentioned above, while the EAA does not apply directly to the UK, where a UK company makes an in-scope product or service available within the EU, it will fall within the scope of the Act.

The list of in-scope products is specific in nature including, for example, consumer general purpose computer hardware systems and operating systems, payment terminals, various self-service terminals, and e-readers, and is therefore unlikely to affect the majority of retailers, consumer brands and hospitality providers. However, the inclusion of "e-commerce services" as an in-scope service significantly broadens the EAA's application. This category of in-scope service would capture businesses engaged in the online sale of any product or service through their website or mobile applications.  This could be via an online retail store or marketplace and would include, for example, travel and holiday bookings, online food and drink orders and fashion retail sales, to name but a few. Online helpdesks, call centres, and training services, which are frequently used by consumer brands to assist customers, will also be subject to the EEA's accessibility obligations for support services.

Retailers acting as e-commerce service providers must observe both:

• the EAA's general accessibility obligations applicable to all in-scope services (e.g. making websites and mobile device-based services accessible and, where a retailer offers support services (e.g. help desks, technical support and call centres), equipping them to provide information on the accessibility of the service and its compatibility with assistive technologies); and
• the e-commerce service specific accessibility obligations (e.g. providing information on the accessibility of the products and services being sold (where provided by the responsible economic operator) and providing identification methods, electronic signatures, and payment services in line with the four principles of accessibility of websites and mobile applications - perceivability, operability, understandability and robustness).

The obligation to comply with the above requirements may be mitigated where one (or both) of the two exceptions that apply where compliance with the EAA would:

1. require a fundamental alteration of an in-scope product or service; or
2. impose a disproportionate burden on the economic operator.

Microenterprises - businesses with fewer than 10 employees and either less than €2 million in annual turnover or total assets - are exempted from the obligations of the EAA applicable to services, and have lighter obligations in relation to products, since they have limited human resources and annual turnover.

What are the risks of non-compliance?

From 28 June 2025, retailers, consumer brands and hospitality providers who provide e-commerce services must immediately self-report any non-compliance to relevant authorities (e.g. in each Member State in which the service is provided) and take corrective measures to address any non-compliance. In turn, Member States are empowered to introduce "effective, proportionate and dissuasive" penalties for such non-compliance and varying levels of financial penalty have already emerged in national legislation. Any penalty would need to take into account the extent of the non-compliance, including its seriousness, the number of units of non-complying products or services concerned, and the number of persons affected.

The EAA also requires Member States to empower consumers to take action under national law before the courts or administrative bodies for non-compliant products and services. Public bodies and private associations or other entities which have a legitimate interest may also bring complaints before the court or authorities with the complainant’s approval.

What next?

With the imminent entry into force of Member States' national implementing legislation this June, retailers, consumer brands and hospitality providers who provide e-commerce services to consumers (or any other in-scope products and services) should familiarise themselves with the accessibility requirements of the EAA as soon as possible and look to bring themselves into compliance to the extent there are any gaps in accessibility that need to be remediated.

Important steps as part of this preparation will involve:

1. getting the c-suite up to speed and on-board regarding the new heightened regulatory environment surrounding accessibility in the EU;
2. mapping a business's relevant territories and assessing whether any additional local law requirements apply in any markets;
3. auditing in-scope products and services and following a gap analysis, bringing them into compliance with the requirements of the EAA (including conducting an assessment as to whether any exceptions may apply);
4. ensuring that relevant personnel receive appropriate training regarding any accessibility features (particularly those involved in website / user experience design and customer support); and
5. assessing whether it is appropriate to revise upstream or downstream contracts to ensure that compliance responsibilities are clearly assigned across the supply chain.