Millions of consumers with mental or physical disabilities feel excluded from buying particular products due to accessibility issues.

A poll of 1,000 adults with disabilities revealed over two-thirds (68%) have felt ignored by retailers and manufacturers.

The spending power of people with disabilities – known as the purple pound – is estimated to be worth a staggering £274 billion-a-year, however 72% of consumers have had to abandon a purchase due to the product’s lack of accessibility.

Top issues faced by consumers included difficult-to-open food packaging, clothing with awkward fastenings, and shops with high shelves and poor lighting.

In terms of online shopping, 80% found difficulty with websites that were not adequately optimised for accessibility; a third struggled with poorly designed checkout processes, and a fifth encountered images lacking text descriptions.

Katharina Mayer, head of LifeStyle Lab Europe at Samsung, which commissioned the study, stated: “This research has highlighted the huge opportunity for brands to better understand the accessibility needs of consumers to provide greater access for people with disabilities in the UK. Companies are rarely able to test their ideas with diverse people with different needs, but this is a must.”

Over half of consumers believe mainstream brands show no interest in creating products that cater to individual needs, despite 56% willing to pay more for a product or service that took their disability into consideration.

As a result, three-quarters will opt to shop elsewhere, remaining loyal to companies that meet their needs.

A third don’t anticipate changes from the fashion or transport sectors anytime soon, although there have been advancements in technology.

The top tech innovations for people with disabilities were identified as virtual assistants, smart home devices, and wearable devices for health monitoring.

A spokesperson for Samsung further commented: “It’s time to re-write this narrative. When designers consider varied needs from the beginning, they don’t just serve people with disabilities-they create solutions that benefit everyone and that is the approach we take to inclusive design at Samsung.”