Disabled people are your customers

Companies which understand the impact of disability on their customers will reach a wider market create innovative new products and deliver better services for everyone. As the population ages and there are a greater diversity of customers expecting individualised products and services, disability confidence will enable business to attract more custom and reduce the cost of the ‘walk away £.'

• 1 in 3 people in the UK are disabled or close to someone who is [i]
• 10 million disabled people live in the UK with a combined annual spending power of £80 billion [ii]
• There are 54 million Americans with disabilities who have a disposable spending power of $220 billion.[iii] 73% are heads of households and 48% are principal shoppers[iv]
• Three quarters of Canadians without disabilities know someone with a disability, most often a family member or friend[v]
• There are 650 million disabled people worldwide[vi]

Changing market demographics

• The 50-plus generation is estimated to grow by more than 6 million in the next 25 years. Consumer spending among the UK's 50-to-69-year-olds currently runs at £300bn a year, and this group buy more designer fashion, premium cars, and other expensive goods than any other group. The average expenditure for households of 50 - 59 year olds is £213 a week, compared with an average of £135 for all other age groups[vii]
• 33% of people in the UK aged 50 - 65 have a disability; 42% of people over 65 have a disability[viii]
• Some more facts about Britain's older people: Net income for this group rose 28% between 1995/6 and 2003/4; 50% of those over 50 own their own home outright; 3 in 10 men/ 2 in 10 women aged over 80 own a mobile phone. 1/10 men and 1/20 women over 80 used the internet in 2002.[ix]
• There are 2.7 million women carers and 1.8 million male carers aged 16 - 64 - half these are caring for someone over the age of 75
• From 2005 to 2030 the number of Europeans aged over 65 will increase by 52.3% - there will be 40 million more older consumers [x]
• Baby boomers will be the most financially powerful generation of mature consumers ever; today's mature adults control more than $7 trillion in wealth in the United States - 70% of the total. [xi]

Disabled customers experiences

• 83% of disabled people ‘walked away' from inaccessible or unwelcoming businesses in 2005, unable or unwilling to make a purchase; only just over half complained about the poor service they received[xii]
• 67% of disabled people choose businesses which are good at serving disabled customers[xiii]
• 58% of disabled people say that the way in which businesses treat them affects the shopping habits of their friends and families. 26% say that poor service means others are less likely to shop with the business; a further 16% said that friends and family never shop with companies which have provided a poor service[xiv]
• Disabled people shop online. For 23% of disabled people surveyed recently it's the way they shop most often. [xv] The internet is recognised as improving disabled people's lives and independence: 1 in 10 have used the internet to complete tasks for which they previously had to rely on others. [xvi] 54 per cent of disabled people surveyed consider Internet access essential, compared with only 6 per cent in the general population.[xvii]
• Direct Enquiries, www.directenquiries.com, the online nationwide access register receives 250,000 hits a week from people looking for local businesses and services which meet their access needs
• In 2002 American travellers with disabilities spent $13.6 billion on 31.7 million trips. In 2001 the lodging industry had $4.2 billion in revenue from disabled guests, resulting in 60,000 jobs created. The airline industry had $3.3 billion in revenue from disabled travellers, creating 52,800 jobs. All told, according to these projections, travellers with disabilities generate 194,000 travel-related jobs, $4.22 billion in payroll and $2.52 billion in tax revenues. [xviii]
• Implementing the access provisions of the ADA has increased revenues in the US hotel and hospitality industry by 12%[xix]

Engaging with disabled customers

• Promote your service to disabled customers, through making sure people are aware of what access features your business provides.
• Ensure that your complaints procedure is accessible to everyone, regardless of their disability. For example, ensure that forms are available in alternative formats. Consider monitoring complaints for disability related complaints
• Work with disabled people's organisations in the local community to help promote access and excellent customer service for people with disabilities
• Ensure that disabled people are included in mystery shopping exercises

Useful links

Direct Enquiries provides an online directory of the features of accessible business

Disability Marketing provides more information on the US market and how to design marketing to attract disabled customers

Sources

1. [i] Office of National Statistics Census 2001
2. [ii] DWP, December 2004
3. [iii] Robert Rudney, A Disability Market Survey 2003, NOD
4. [iv] Disability-marketing.com
5. [v] An Overview of Disability in Canada
6. [vi] United Nations Convention on Rights of Persons with Disabilities, 2007
7. [vii] Mintel research quoted in the Guardian
8. [viii] Labour Force Survey, Autumn 2005
9. [ix] Office for National Statistics, ‘Focus on Older People' November 2005
10. [x] European Commission Green Paper on Demographic Change, 2005
11. [xi] Concours group, 2004
12. [xii] 'The Walk Away £: Employers' Forum on Disability customer survey, 2006
13. [xiii] 'The Walk Away £: Employers' Forum on Disability customer survey, 2006
14. [xiv] 'The Walk Away £: Employers' Forum on Disability customer survey, 2006
15. [xv] 'The Walk Away £: Employers' Forum on Disability customer survey, 2006
16. [xvi] Joseph Rowntree
17. [xvii] Leonard Cheshire, 2002
18. [xviii] Robert Rudney, A Disability Market Survey 2003, NOD
19. [xix] Disability-marketing.com quoting a General Accounting Office report