Accessibility Can’t Stop at the Shelf: An $18 Trillion Lesson for Marketers by AudioEye

Every once in a while, a product launch doubles as a marketing masterclass. Recently, Selena Gomez’s Rare Beauty released a new fragrance, and it wasn’t just the scent that captured attention. It was the bottle. Designed with accessibility in mind, the easy-to-use packaging quickly became the story, sparking conversations and praise from accessibility advocates and consumers alike.

The takeaway for marketers is hard to miss. An inclusive design decision became the campaign itself, delivering more cultural impact than any ad spend could buy. And the lesson for marketers is equally clear: accessibility drives loyalty, enhances brand reputation, ensures compliance, and acts as a measurable growth driver.

Accessibility as a campaign strategy

Rare Beauty’s commitment to accessibility wasn’t a one-off. From packaging to pricing to its ongoing mental health advocacy, the brand has consistently embedded inclusivity into its DNA. That authenticity matters. Consumers can tell the difference between a stunt and a strategy, and they reward brands that lead with values.

And Rare Beauty isn’t alone. Across industries, leading brands are increasingly surfacing accessibility as a differentiator, not a footnote. Apple has consistently highlighted accessibility features as part of its core product storytelling, positioning them as innovation rather than accommodation. Microsoft has done the same by showcasing inclusive design in mainstream campaigns, including adaptive gaming products that reframed accessibility as a driver of creativity and connection. In fashion and retail, brands like Tommy Hilfiger and Unilever have brought adaptive design into the spotlight, integrating accessibility into product launches and brand identity rather than siloing it as a niche offering.

According to studies from Edelman and McKinsey, 73% of Gen Z choose to buy from brands they believe in, and 70% say they try to purchase products from companies they consider ethical. These aren’t fringe preferences, they’re mainstream expectations that can redefine how marketers approach building trust and growth with their audiences.

The $18 trillion market marketers overlook

More than 1.3 billion people globally live with a disability, and together with their friends and family, they control over $18 trillion in spending power, according to the Return on Disability Group. For marketers, this isn’t just about compliance. It’s about growth, reputation, and building genuine trust in one of the world’s largest and most passionate consumer groups. That passion translates to powerful advocacy. 

In discussions with AudioEye’s A11iance Team, a group of individuals with disabilities who regularly share feedback on real-world accessibility experiences, one member stated, “If I find a website that works and works very well for me, I will always recommend it to friends and family because I want people to have the same experience that I have.”

As another A11iance Team member, Maxwell Ivey, put it, “The cheapest form of advertising is word of mouth, and people with disabilities can have some of the loudest voices when we find people willing to make the effort. Because it’s that sincere effort over time that really counts with us.”

When accessibility becomes part of the customer experience, it creates something money can’t buy: trust and loyalty that scale through advocacy. But the opposite is also true. In a survey of assistive technology users, 54% said they don’t feel eCommerce companies care about earning their business.

Most brands are still competing for the same oversaturated demographics while overlooking this opportunity hiding in plain sight. In doing so, they’re leaving loyalty, advocacy, and revenue on the table.

Here’s where many brands stumble: accessibility usually stops at the shelf. Marketers invest heavily in packaging, store displays and product design, while digital experiences, the first and often primary touchpoint for customers, lag behind.

As accessibility-led design continues to earn attention, loyalty and earned media, the gap between physical product innovation and digital experience has become harder to ignore.

AudioEye’s 2025 Digital Accessibility Index found an average of 297 accessibility issues per web page detectable by automation alone. Each one represents friction in the customer journey, a conversion lost, or a compliance risk under frameworks like the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the European Accessibility Act (EAA).

Just as no campaign would launch without a brand review or legal check, no digital touchpoint should go live without an accessibility review.

Four moves marketing leaders can make

Too often, accessibility is treated as a risk to manage instead of an advantage to leverage. The marketers who win will be the ones who flip that script. Here are four actions to start with.

1. Make accessibility your campaign hook

Don’t hide it, lead with it. Brands like Rare Beauty have proved that inclusive design is the story. Build campaigns where accessibility isn’t a footnote but the differentiator that captures attention and loyalty.

2. Bake it into your brand system

Accessibility shouldn’t sit off to the side. Make Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) alignment part of your brand guidelines, right alongside typography, logos and tone of voice. When accessibility is codified, it becomes second nature across every campaign.

3. Use data as your proof point

Marketers are storytellers, and numbers seal the story. Track accessibility improvements such as fewer user-reported barriers, higher accessibility scores and fixes like improved alt text, color contrast or form usability. Connect those metrics to existing business outcomes like conversion, reach, and sentiment to show how accessibility drives ROI, not just compliance.

4. Protect accessibility like brand safety

Just as you’d never risk brand safety in ad placements, don’t risk it in your digital touchpoints. Every update, seasonal campaign, or product drop should be monitored for accessibility. Trust and reputation are too valuable to leave exposed.

The Competitive Advantage

Rare Beauty’s fragrance launch proved something powerful: when you lead with accessibility, the story writes itself. The loyalty builds authentically, and the momentum flows naturally.

But here’s the opportunity: most brands still don’t get it. They’re treating accessibility as a compliance checkbox instead of the growth strategy it really is.

For marketers, that’s the wake-up call. Accessibility builds loyalty. It enhances brand reputation. It keeps your brand compliant. And it drives measurable growth across marketing efforts.

Rare Beauty showed how accessibility can capture attention at the shelf. The next opportunity is making sure it carries through online. Because when every touchpoint welcomes everyone, every campaign maximizes its impact.

View the full article