Re: Statistical and other questions

Amy,
A partial answer to your question # 1, "According to the U.S. Census
Bureau, 21 percent of Americans currently have a disability. That's 54
million consumers. Of these, more than 4 in 10 are online, a Harris Poll
reveals."

This is a quote from an article that was posted to the w3c-wai-eo mail
list earlier today. You can read the whole thing at the archives:

http://lists.w3.org/Archives/Public/w3c-wai-eo/2000OctDec/0039.html

There were a few other articles posted there that might interest you.
The archives are at:
http://lists.w3.org/Archives/Public/w3c-wai-eo/2000OctDec/


-- 
Kathleen Anderson
mailto:kathleen.anderson@po.state.ct.us
URL OSC: http://www.osc.state.ct.us/
URL ACCESS: http://www.cmac.state.ct.us/access/




Amy.Belanger@kohls.com wrote:
> 
> A designer that I work with and I were discussing about the necessity of
> making the site we are creating accessible to the visually impaired. We
> were curious if there was any statistical information regarding percentages
> of US web users that are visually impaired or blind.  (Our point is to make
> a case for stronger implementation of W3C Guidelines as well as usability
> and accessibility testing to those who hold the purse strings.  They thrive
> on statistics.) We are in the design process now and are putting together
> prototypes. Our thought was to create a design for that demographic, as
> well as adjusting the prototypes we already have. (We currently do not have
> a shopping site online, merely an informational site that we are working on
> making Bobby Approved.)  Our thought was if the site is easy to use for the
> visually impaired, it should be just as easy to use for those that are not.
> Are we naive in our thinking? Or are we on the right track?
> 
> Our other question was regarding e-commerce sites. Are there any sites,
> that the group is aware of, that do make a conscious effort to make their
> site as accessible as possible to everyone who may be purchasing items on
> the net--especially apparel?   I recall something regarding the Gap (?)
> choosing not being accessible, even when the issue was brought to their
> attention, but nothing on the reverse.  Any articles that relate to this
> topic would be helpful.
> 
> Thanks for any help you can offer,
> 
> Amy Belanger
> 
> Kohl's Department Stores

Received on Monday, 23 October 2000 18:20:49 UTC