Accessibility can’t stop at the shelf: An $18 trillion lesson for marketers by AudioEye

In the high-stakes world of consumer marketing, a product launch is often judged by its immediate sales figures, social media impressions, and viral potential. However, every so often, a brand releases a product that does more than just sell—it educates the industry. Recently, Selena Gomez’s Rare Beauty launched a new fragrance that achieved exactly this. While the scent itself was praised, the real story was the bottle. Designed with a specific focus on accessibility, the easy-to-open packaging became a lightning rod for positive conversation among accessibility advocates and mainstream consumers alike.

For modern marketers, the Rare Beauty example is more than a feel-good story; it is a strategic blueprint. By making an inclusive design decision the centerpiece of the product, the brand generated a level of cultural impact and organic reach that a traditional advertising budget rarely achieves. This illustrates a fundamental shift in the marketplace: accessibility is no longer a niche concern or a legal checkbox. It is a powerful driver of brand loyalty, a guardian of reputation, and a massive, untapped engine for global growth.

Accessibility as a Core Campaign Strategy

The success of Rare Beauty’s fragrance bottle was not an isolated incident or a lucky break. It was the result of a brand identity that has consistently embedded inclusivity into its DNA. From the tactile design of its makeup containers to its public advocacy for mental health through the Rare Impact Fund, the brand has demonstrated that accessibility is a foundational value rather than a marketing tactic. In an era where consumers are increasingly skeptical of “virtue signaling,” this authenticity is the currency that builds long-term trust.

Rare Beauty is far from the only industry leader recognizing this shift. Across the technology and retail sectors, global giants are moving accessibility from the fine print of their technical specifications to the front and center of their brand storytelling. Apple, for instance, has long integrated accessibility features into its core product marketing, framing “AssistiveTouch” and “Magnifier” not as accommodations for the few, but as innovations for everyone. Microsoft followed a similar path with the Xbox Adaptive Controller, creating a mainstream campaign that reframed inclusive design as a way to empower human connection and creativity through gaming.

This trend is supported by hard data regarding consumer behavior. Research from organizations like Edelman and McKinsey reveals that 73% of Gen Z consumers prefer to buy from brands that align with their personal values. Furthermore, 70% of consumers across all demographics state they make a concerted effort to purchase from companies they perceive as ethical. These statistics indicate that inclusive design is not just a moral choice; it is a response to a mainstream market expectation that can redefine how brands build and maintain trust.

The $18 Trillion Market Marketers Overlook

The scale of the “disability market” is often vastly underestimated by marketing departments. According to the Return on Disability Group, there are more than 1.3 billion people globally living with some form of disability. When you include their families, friends, and caregivers—those whose purchasing decisions are influenced by the accessibility of the products they use together—this group controls over $18 trillion in annual spending power.

For marketers, this represents a massive opportunity hiding in plain sight. However, capturing this market requires more than just making a product usable; it requires building genuine relationships with a community that has historically been ignored or underserved. This community is characterized by fierce loyalty and powerful advocacy. When a brand takes the time to get accessibility right, the “word of mouth” generated within the disability community is unparalleled.

Insights from AudioEye’s A11iance Team—a group of professionals with disabilities who provide feedback on real-world digital experiences—highlight this dynamic. One team member noted that finding a website that is fully navigable and user-friendly is such a relief that they feel compelled to recommend it to everyone they know. Maxwell Ivey, a member of the A11iance Team, noted that people with disabilities often have the “loudest voices” in terms of advocacy because they appreciate the sincere effort a brand makes to include them.

Conversely, the cost of neglect is high. A recent survey of assistive technology users found that 54% of respondents feel that e-commerce companies simply do not care about earning their business. When a brand fails to prioritize accessibility, it isn’t just missing a sale; it is actively alienating a demographic that represents a significant portion of the global economy. By overlooking this group, brands are leaving revenue, advocacy, and market share on the table for their competitors to claim.

Bridging the Gap Between the Physical and Digital Shelf

A recurring mistake in the corporate world is the “accessibility silo.” Brands may invest millions in ergonomic product packaging, accessible retail store layouts, and inclusive television advertisements, yet they often neglect the digital experience. In the modern customer journey, the website or mobile app is usually the first point of contact. If that digital touchpoint is broken, the brand’s physical accessibility efforts are rendered moot.

As consumer awareness of inclusive design grows, the discrepancy between physical innovation and digital friction is becoming harder to ignore. AudioEye’s 2025 Digital Accessibility Index underscores the severity of this issue. The study found that the average web page contains 297 accessibility issues that can be detected by automation alone. These aren’t just minor technical glitches; they are barriers that prevent users from reading content, navigating menus, or completing a purchase.

Common digital barriers include:

Missing alt-text for images, which prevents screen reader users from understanding visual content.
Poor color contrast that makes text unreadable for users with low vision.
Non-navigable forms and checkout processes that lack keyboard support.
Lack of captions or transcripts for video content.

Every one of these issues represents a point of friction in the customer journey and a potential loss of revenue. Furthermore, digital inaccessibility carries significant legal risks. Frameworks like the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) in the United States and the upcoming European Accessibility Act (EAA) in the EU have made digital accessibility a legal requirement. Just as a marketing team would never launch a campaign without a legal review or a brand safety check, they can no longer afford to launch digital assets without an accessibility audit.

Four Strategic Moves for Marketing Leaders

To move beyond compliance and turn accessibility into a competitive advantage, marketing leaders must change their perspective. Accessibility should not be viewed as a risk to be mitigated, but as a standard of excellence to be achieved. Here are four actionable moves that can help marketers lead this transition.

1. Make Accessibility Your Campaign Hook

Inclusive design is a compelling story. Instead of treating accessibility as a hidden feature, brands should lead with it. When a product is designed to be more usable for people with disabilities, it often becomes more usable for everyone. Rare Beauty proved that focusing on these design choices can capture the public’s imagination. By highlighting accessibility in your marketing materials, you demonstrate innovation and empathy, two traits that modern consumers value highly.

2. Bake It Into Your Brand System

Accessibility should be integrated into the brand’s DNA, not treated as an afterthought. This means incorporating Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) into your official brand guidelines. Just as you have rules for typography, logo usage, and tone of voice, you should have rules for color contrast ratios, alt-text descriptions, and video captioning. When these standards are codified at the brand level, accessibility becomes a natural part of every project rather than an extra task at the end of a production cycle.

3. Use Data as Your Proof Point

Marketing is increasingly a data-driven discipline, and accessibility is no different. To secure buy-in from stakeholders, marketers should track and report on accessibility metrics. This includes monitoring accessibility scores, tracking the remediation of user-reported barriers, and analyzing the impact of accessibility improvements on conversion rates and SEO rankings. For example, better alt-text and site structure don’t just help users with visual impairments; they also help search engine crawlers understand your site, leading to better organic visibility. By connecting accessibility to ROI, marketers can show that inclusivity is a sound business investment.

4. Protect Accessibility Like Brand Safety

Brands spend enormous amounts of money ensuring their ads don’t appear next to controversial content. They should apply that same level of vigilance to the accessibility of their digital touchpoints. Every website update, seasonal campaign, or new product drop has the potential to introduce accessibility “bugs.” Continuous monitoring and testing—combining automated tools with human testing—are essential to ensure that the user experience remains inclusive. A single inaccessible checkout page can destroy the trust you’ve worked years to build with a customer.

The Competitive Advantage of Inclusion

The lesson from Rare Beauty’s fragrance launch is clear: when you prioritize accessibility, the brand story often writes itself. You don’t have to manufacture “buzz” when you are solving real-world problems for a massive and underserved audience. The loyalty that follows is authentic, and the market momentum is sustainable.

Despite the clear benefits, many brands are still lagging. They view accessibility as a hurdle or a burden, which leaves a wide opening for forward-thinking marketers to step in and capture the $18 trillion market. By making the digital “shelf” as accessible as the physical one, companies can ensure that every customer—regardless of their ability—feels welcomed and valued.

In the end, accessibility is about more than just numbers or laws; it is about expanding the reach of your brand to every possible person. When your marketing is truly inclusive, every campaign maximizes its potential, and every touchpoint becomes an opportunity to build a lifelong connection. Rare Beauty showed how accessibility can win at the shelf; the next generation of marketing leaders will show how it can win everywhere else.