In the fall of 2023, Victoria’s Secret launched an adaptive line of intimate wear for which I got to be part of the wear test. I was excited. Growing up, my perception of what was sexy and attractive was defined by the models I saw in Victoria’s Secret advertising, and they certainly didn’t look like me. One of the products was an adaptive bra that clasped in the front. As I put on the bra, I thought about how many people with brachial plexus injuries or upper-extremity disabilities often resort to wearing sports bras because it’s too difficult to clasp bras in the back with one hand. In that moment, it hit me how throughout history, businesses haven’t really thought about us and intimate wear in this way, even something as simple as moving the clasp to the front.
Disabled people are your customers. Globally, with 1.85 billion disabled people in the world (larger than the population of China), and an additional 3.3 billion if you count our friends and family, the disability market controls over $13 trillion in disposable income.1 In the United States, we have over $490 billion in disposable income, while the discretionary income—money available for non-essential items after basic living expenses have been met—of working-age disabled adults is $21 billion, more than the $16 billion of the Hispanic community and $3 billion of the African American community combined.2 With these numbers, shouldn’t businesses be catering to us as well?
Disabled people are viable customers with purchasing power and economic influence. We want to buy fashionable clothes, shoes, and jewelry. We want the latest gadgets, phones, and technology. We travel, we watch movies and plays, we buy household wares. We eat in restaurants. It is a significant economic move for businesses to acknowledge us as a demographic and to cater to us, which can help attract new customers, earn customer loyalty, and gain market share. Conversely, if businesses don’t make their services and products accessible, it is a clear indication that disabled people should not patronize or support them. We will simply spend our money elsewhere.
Take what happened to content creator Taylor Lindsay-Noel, who conducts accessibility reviews as a wheelchair user. Despite checking online, calling, and calling again the day of the event to double-check whether a restaurant booking for a friend’s thirtieth birthday was wheelchair accessible, Lindsay-Noel arrived to find only steps to enter the restaurant. When she requested a portable ramp, the restaurant staff told her they didn’t have one because it would be “illegal” and suggested lifting her 350-pound wheelchair into the restaurant. Lindsay-Noel had to show the manager proof of her discussions with two other staff members who had said the restaurant was accessible, as well as the Google listing, but the night was already “ruined.”3 Lindsay-Noel and her friends acted quickly and found another restaurant on short notice. The restaurant later apologized for the misinformation and, on Lindsay-Noel’s advice, continued to work with her to provide new accessibility improvements, such as ordering a portable ramp, implementing better staff training, and even having a braille menu and an audio menu.4 In response to a supportive commenter on her TikTok post who remarked that the restaurant having better accessibility would elevate the experience for all customers, Lindsay-Noel added, “Exactly what I think! It’ll only help their restaurant’s reach in the future.”5
Lindsay-Noel’s experience teaches us a few things: that disabled people are customers, too; that misinformation or a lack of accessibility has the potential to lose the business customers; and that working to improve accessibility would open the door to a brand-new market.
Beginning November 10, 2023, retail giant Walmart announced that it would implement sensory-friendly hours from 8 to 10 a.m. every day. This includes turning off the radio, dimming the lights, and showing static instead of moving images on televisions. Sensory-friendly accommodations cater to customers who have sensory-processing disorders, which is common among people with autism, ADHD, and PTSD, just to name a few. To create the best experience, Walmart invited the expertise of disabled customers and launched a pilot program within selected stores on Saturdays, which was an overwhelming success, before expanding to all outlets in the United States and Puerto Rico. According to Walmart, the new initiative was driven by a desire to create a culture of belonging. “These changes may have seemed small to some, but for others, they transformed the shopping experience,” says a Walmart press release.6 Sometimes considering the needs of disabled customers involves simple solutions—whether it’s establishing sensory hours or moving bra clasps to the front—with great impact.
Providing accessibility goes beyond physical accommodations in a space; it should also be built into product design, customer service, and overall business attitudes. “Thirty-two years [after the ADA], accessibility still too often feels like an afterthought,” says disability writer Andrew Pulrang in an article for Forbes. “Accessibility is still treated like some kind of premium feature rather than a civic responsibility for businesses, or a civil right for customers.”7 As customers, we all want to feel seen and appreciated, we want to have freedom and agency, and we want our products to fulfill our needs. That includes disabled customers, too.
Pulrang points out that catering to disabled customers is more urgent than ever as the population ages and the number of disabled people rises during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Additionally, with more accessible options available these days, such as online shopping and delivery services, disabled customers have more power and choice to reject inaccessible brick-and-mortar businesses. As Pulrang says, “Accessibility… may soon become a genuine and significant competitive necessity, as it has always promised to be.”8
Businesses change to keep up with shifting consumer expectations. This happened in the beauty industry in 2017, when Fenty Beauty launched forty shades of foundation to serve customers with different complexions when other beauty companies didn’t. Suddenly, forty shades became the new standard for customers. In order not to lose their market share, other beauty brands had to make their product lines more inclusive to keep up. Forbes contributor Sonia Thompson writes, “Once [customers] see a brand that makes a point of catering to their needs, their bar for their standard of excellence changes. They see what’s possible, and subsequently expect brands that want their business to be intentional about serving their needs as well.”9
Customers should be the ones driving and determining business trends, and businesses would do well to be proactively inclusive instead of waiting to make changes only once they realize they’re losing out. “[Customers] remember the [brands] who took the time to see them first when nobody else did,” Thompson adds.10 In other words, intentionally catering to disabled customers builds customer loyalty and enhances a brand’s overall reputation, not just with disabled people but also with our friends, family, and loved ones.
Disability inclusion and accessibility advocate Meryl K. Evans, who is deaf, shares,
Smart businesses provide multiple ways to communicate and [multiple] contact options. I needed to get some coffee for an event. I looked up a major chain’s contact information. There was only an address and a phone number. I contacted the company’s accessibility team and suggested they provide another contact option like email, texting, and online chat.… Meanwhile, I contacted another coffee shop. They provided an email and a phone number. Guess who got my business? Accessibility brings in money for businesses.11