Six months have passed since the European Accessibility Act (EAA) began enforcement in June 2025. For many organizations—especially online retailers—the EAA has already reshaped how digital experiences are evaluated, built, and maintained.
During this early enforcement window, one thing has become clear: eCommerce is feeling the impact earlier and more intensely than most other digital sectors. With regulatory activity underway, a crucial question is emerging:
Are eCommerce businesses genuinely meeting EAA expectations, or are many overestimating their readiness?
And while a significant number of leaders believe they are on track, accessiBe’s proprietary research with more than 300 eCommerce decision-makers and members of the disability community suggests otherwise. The findings reveal a notable gap between perceived preparedness and the accessibility performance regulators are now assessing—an emerging disconnect with real implications as enforcement continues to expand.
What EAA enforcement has looked like so far
Six months into enforcement, publicly available details on specific EAA actions remain limited and vary by Member State. What is clear is that the EAA requires businesses selling into the EU to meet the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 Level AA, ensure assistive-technology compatibility, provide an accessible purchasing experience, and publish an accurate accessibility statement.
The early fines reported publicly—such as a €150,000 penalty in Germany for missing alt text during checkout, with the potential for fines up to €500,000 per violation—illustrate the types of gaps that carry regulatory consequences.
These enforcement themes align with the areas where accessiBe’s eCommerce trends survey found accessibility challenges to be most common:
- Completing checkout flows
- Navigating dynamic filters and product interfaces
- Interacting with third-party components
- Locating clear accessibility information
Why eCommerce is under the microscope
The EAA applies broadly to digital products and services, but retail experiences carry unique complexity. eCommerce sites rely on dynamic interfaces—filters, carousels, promotions, pop-ups, and embedded third-party tools—that change frequently and often behave unpredictably with assistive technologies. These environments introduce a higher risk of accessibility regressions, especially during seasonal updates or catalog changes.
This complexity is also reflected in accessiBe’s eCommerce trends survey, where retailers and members of the disability community point to recurring barriers across product discovery, navigation, and checkout. These are the same areas regulators expect to remain accessible at all times under the EAA.
For businesses selling into the EU, this creates a clear mandate: retail sites must deliver consistent, accessible shopping experiences, even as content, components, and integrations evolve at a rapid pace.
Understanding eCommerce readiness for the EAA
Although many retailers expressed confidence ahead of the EAA’s enforcement date, the data presents a more nuanced picture. According to accessiBe’s eCommerce trends survey—conducted with Qualtrics, nonprofit leaders, and disability community organizations—most businesses are not yet fully prepared for the EAA.
Key findings include:
- 66% of businesses are not fully prepared for EAA compliance
- 19% say they are not prepared at all
- Only 34% consider themselves prepared, despite 71% selling into the EU
- Just 43% report having a dedicated accessibility budget, leaving many teams under-resourced for a regulation directly tied to customer trust and European market access
This gap between confidence and operational readiness is emerging just as regulators begin to enforce accessibility requirements. It underscores a clear trend:
Many eCommerce teams recognize the importance of accessibility, but lack the resources, processes, or consistency needed to meet EAA expectations over time.
So, what should eCommerce businesses do now?
Six months into enforcement, the EAA has made accessibility a mandatory part of selling into the EU. For retailers, the next step is building processes that keep accessibility reliable across fast-changing digital environments. While every organization will approach this differently, several practices have emerged as essential for aligning with the EAA’s expectations.
1. Build accessibility into design and development
The most sustainable way to meet WCAG 2.1 AA requirements—referenced by the EAA—is to integrate accessibility early. Designing with proper semantic structure, labeling, and interaction patterns reduces long-term costs and avoids the break → patch → break cycle common in retail workflows.
2. Audit early and often
Dynamic interfaces and seasonal updates can introduce new accessibility issues quickly. Regular testing of checkout flows, filters, product pages, and promotions helps teams identify and address issues before they reach customers—or regulators.
3. Pair automation with human expertise
Automated tools can detect many issues at scale, but manual remediation is critical for complex behaviors such as modal interactions, keyboard focus traps, or assistive-technology compatibility. A combined approach helps ensure that accessibility holds up through ongoing changes.
4. Assign clear ownership
Compliance efforts stall when responsibility is spread across product, engineering, and legal teams without clear accountability. Designating a single leader or working group helps ensure coordination and keeps accessibility visible on the roadmap.
5. Document, disclose, and communicate
The EAA requires accurate, up-to-date accessibility statements. Maintaining audit logs and documenting fixes demonstrates good-faith effort—something regulators increasingly look for as enforcement matures. Clear public documentation also builds trust with customers who value transparency.
6. Treat accessibility as a growth opportunity
The EAA is a regulatory requirement, but accessibility also strengthens conversion, customer loyalty, and brand trust. Retailers who invest in inclusive design see benefits well beyond compliance, especially in European markets where customers increasingly expect accessible experiences.
How accessiBe supports eCommerce accessibility from end to end
The EAA has made accessibility an ongoing operational requirement, not a one-time project. Retailers now need solutions that help them build, maintain, and continuously improve accessible digital experiences in fast-moving eCommerce environments. Recent guidance from European disability and accessibility organizations makes clear that relying fully on automation is an insufficient approach, and that sustainable accessibility requires a more comprehensive strategy—one that blends AI-driven support with human expertise, and, when needed, developer tools.
accessiBe supports this work as an end-to-end solution provider, bringing together multiple capabilities that help organizations improve accessibility and maintain alignment with the EAA over time.
accessWidget: AI-powered, session-based accessibility
Through the power of AI, accessWidget helps transform websites so that they adhere to core WCAG guidelines, making them compatible with assistive technologies and navigable via keyboard. Visitors can also use an accessibility interface to customize their browsing experience in ways that better support their individual needs. For example, users can adjust color contrast, enlarge text, modify spacing, highlight headings, or activate screen-reader adjustments that help them navigate more effectively.
More complex eCommerce sites can benefit from customized enhancements to accessWidget, which optimize its behavior for unique design patterns, rich media elements, or advanced interactive components. These enhancements help ensure that accessWidget supports the site’s specific accessibility challenges while maintaining an inclusive experience for all shoppers.
accessServices: The best in human accessibility expertise
accessServices provides hands-on support from accessibility specialists who address complex needs that automated tools can’t fully resolve. This includes document and media remediation, in-depth audits, and user testing with people with disabilities to reveal real-world barriers across key shopping journeys.
accessFlow: An accessibility management platform for developers
accessFlow is a comprehensive platform that helps developers test, monitor, and remediate accessibility issues directly in the source code as websites evolve. It includes an accessibility SDK for embedding automated checks into CI/CD pipelines, MCP (Model Context Protocol) support to solve issues in your IDE, and AI-powered false-positive validation and alt-text suggestions that streamline repetitive tasks while keeping developers in full control.
With automated audits, journey-based testing, and structured remediation guidance, accessFlow gives teams a practical way to maintain accessible, WCAG-aligned code in line with EAA expectations.
Designing for the EAA era and beyond
Six months in, the EAA has raised the bar for digital retail. Accessibility is now an ongoing operational responsibility, and retailers that make it part of everyday workflows are better positioned to meet expectations, deliver smoother shopping experiences, and build trust with customers. As enforcement evolves, the brands that prioritize accessibility consistently will be best prepared to grow and compete.
Frequently asked questions about the EAA
1. What does the EAA require from eCommerce businesses?
The EAA requires businesses selling into the EU to provide accessible digital experiences that align with WCAG 2.1 AA standards via EN 301 549. This includes assistive-technology compatibility, accessible purchasing flows, and an accurate accessibility statement.
2. Does the EAA apply to companies outside the EU?
Yes. The EAA applies to any business—regardless of location—that sells digital products or services into the EU.
3. What happens if a website is not accessible under the EAA?
Member States can issue notices, require remediation, and impose financial penalties. Public cases, such as a €150,000 fine in Germany tied to checkout-related alt-text failures, illustrate the types of issues that may trigger enforcement.
4. Is WCAG adherence required under the EAA?
The EAA relies on EN 301 549, which in turn references WCAG 2.1 AA as the accessibility standard to follow. While WCAG itself is not a law, adhering to WCAG 2.1 AA provides the clearest method for meeting the EAA’s functional accessibility requirements.
5. How often should retailers check their accessibility?
Because eCommerce sites change frequently, retailers benefit from regular audits, assistive-technology testing, and continuous monitoring to ensure accessibility is maintained over time.
6. How can accessiBe help with EAA-related accessibility efforts?
accessiBe offers AI technology, developer tools, and human expertise to help retailers improve accessibility across their digital experiences. accessWidget supports accessible browsing on a session basis, accessFlow enables developers to audit and remediate issues in the source code, and accessServices provides expert audits, document and media remediation, and user testing. For quick visibility, accessScan highlights issues linked to WCAG criteria referenced in the EAA. Together, these solutions help teams advance their accessibility work and support ongoing alignment with the EAA’s expectations.
