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Accessibility flaws in Polish eCommerce
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Achieving digital accessibility remains a pressing challenge for many of Poland’s leading online retailers. Polish eCommerce accessibility remains at the forefront of the conversation as substantial barriers still stand in the way of individuals with disabilities who wish to navigate and shop on eCommerce platforms. A thorough evaluation of 30 of the top online retailers in Poland has revealed a range of accessibility problems that affect both user experience and compliance with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG). This evaluation is part of a series of reports examining digital accessibility across Europe in anticipation of the European Accessibility Act (EAA).
To assess the state of accessibility among these retailers, our blind QAs assigned each website a score based on its compliance with WCAG standards. A score of 5/5 reflects a high degree of adherence to accessibility best practices, while lower scores point to areas that need attention. The findings show that only 12% of these retailers reached 4/5 or higher, whereas most struggled to surpass 3/5, illustrating that a significant number of Polish businesses are underprepared for full compliance.
These results take on additional importance when considered alongside Poland’s digital accessibility regulation, which enforces compliance through penalties tied to economic indicators. Offenses can lead to fines of up to ten times the average monthly salary in the national economy, without exceeding 10% of a company’s prior-year turnover. In certain situations, the State Fund for Rehabilitation of Disabled Persons (PFRON) may even prevent a product or service from entering the market. This framework ensures that penalties remain proportionate to the organization’s size and financial capacity, yet it also raises questions about how prepared the country’s top online retailers are to meet accessibility expectations under the EAA.
Overview of accessibility compliance
According to our findings, only 12% of Polish retailers reached or exceeded 4/5. More than half of those assessed fell below 3/5, exposing substantial gaps in critical areas such as site navigation and compatibility with assistive technologies.
Many Polish retailers lack foundational accessibility measures. Recurrent pitfalls include missing or incorrect alternative text, poor heading structure, low contrast ratios, and insufficient keyboard navigation. Some businesses have introduced partial improvements – for example, adding descriptive link text or refining the way focus moves between elements. These efforts, though worthwhile, are not applied widely enough to ensure a consistently usable experience for visitors who rely on screen readers or cannot operate a mouse.
Breakdown of accessibility challenges
eCommerce platforms
A large number of eCommerce sites in Poland struggle with fundamental features such as product search, item filters, and checkout pages. Over 40% of these websites display unlabeled buttons, confusing form fields, or disorganized navigation menus. Visitors who depend on a keyboard often encounter difficulty when trying to complete standard tasks, such as adding items to a cart or confirming orders. Repeated failures in essential shopping processes reduce overall usability, which often translates to abandoned carts and lost revenue.
Fashion retailers
Fashion companies often feature visually rich landing pages, product galleries, and promotional banners. Yet around 60% of these sites do not provide enough text-based descriptions for essential images, leaving screen reader users in the dark regarding vital product details and promotional content. Problems with focus order are also common, making it challenging to progress logically through pages. Most fashion retailers in the evaluation scored below 3/5, demonstrating that user-friendly accessibility measures are frequently not prioritized, even though they are required by the EAA.
Electronics retailers
Contrast and form labeling issues are widespread in the electronics sector. About half of the websites assessed showed low-contrast text in specifications or checkout fields, creating issues for users with visual impairments. Missing or unclear labels further hamper tasks such as entering shipping information. Although a select few retailers approached scores close to 4/5, the majority remained in the 2/5 to 3/5 range. Given the complexity of electronics products, thorough descriptions and well-structured forms are crucial to reduce return rates and improve overall buyer satisfaction.
Quantitative insights
After examining data across these sectors, the results reveal:
- 30% of retailers fell below a 2/5 score, highlighting serious accessibility issues that prevent many users from completing basic actions.
- 35% fell in the 2/5 to 3/5 band, indicating moderate efforts but still leaving key barriers unresolved.
- 23% achieved a score between 3/5 and 4/5, showing partial but insufficient progress toward EAA compliance.
- Only 12% reached or exceeded a 4/5 score, demonstrating a genuine commitment to accessibility measures.
The average rating among the 30 online retailers was 2.7 out of 5, which highlights a sizable distance between the current landscape and the standards set by the EAA. A closer review of the data points to three predominant trouble spots across nearly all industries. Over 70% of the websites left images without alt text or used generic descriptions that failed to communicate their purpose. Approximately 65% struggled with poor color contrast, often due to brand-driven palettes that make text hard to read. In addition, 55% showed missing or incomplete labels on form fields, causing frustration during sign-up and checkout processes. Retailers scoring below 2/5 often overlooked all these areas, creating a maze of obstacles for users who rely on assistive tools. Sites in the 2/5 to 3/5 bracket typically resolved one or two issues – such as providing alt text – but left other important tasks, like refining focus management or heading hierarchy, unattended. Businesses that scored between 3/5 and 4/5 addressed multiple elements of accessibility but still showed lapses in areas such as consistent color contrast or clear form instructions. The select few that went beyond 4/5 applied a broad-based strategy, blending thoughtful design with manual and automated testing to keep the user journey smooth from product discovery to final purchase.
Call to action
Polish retailers that neglect accessibility provisions endanger their reputation and risk legal repercussions under the EAA. Polish eCommerce accessibility is critical not just for compliance but also for ensuring that all users can navigate online platforms effortlessly. To encourage long-term improvements, businesses should focus on these actions:
- Conduct regular, blended testing
Automated audits can catch code-level errors, while manual testing by individuals who use assistive technology reveals real-world problems that software alone miss.
- Embrace recognized guidelines
Following WCAG AA standards can serve as a baseline, ensuring that core issues – ranging from labeling to color contrast – are properly addressed.
- Train internal teams
Development and content specialists should be well-versed in accessibility practices. Consistent markup, predictable navigation, and adequate text alternatives should become routine.
- Include users with disabilities in testing
Gather feedback from people who rely on screen readers, keyboard navigation, or other specialized methods. Their experiences highlight what must be prioritized.
These strategies benefit both businesses and shoppers. By improving site design, retailers can draw in a broader range of users and reduce the risk of steep fines. The data shows that significant progress must be made in Poland, and investing in comprehensive changes is the most effective route to compliance. The bottom line: making websites open to everyone is not optional – it is a vital aspect of modern eCommerce that resonates with ethical, practical, and legal requirements alike.
By filling the form below, you will receive our full report, featuring a list of the audited retailers, key accessibility challenges they faced, and their corresponding scores.
Read more about our European Accessibility Act Services that we offer.
