How a missing alt text can cost you money

Can something so small as missing alt text harm your business? Absolutely.

Alt text is often top of mind when discussing accessibility, yet it's frequently mentioned with a dismissive tone, as if something so minor could truly matter. But it can. Missing alt text can actually cost you money.

Recently, I evaluated an e-commerce website by testing its checkout process using only keyboard navigation, then with a screen reader (VoiceOver on Mac). The site had several buttons to increase or decrease item quantities, navigate backward, and proceed forward through the flow.

This is what my screen reader announced: "button," "button," "button," "button." Nothing more. When I clicked to increase a quantity (I'll admit I kept my eyes open for that one), I heard no confirmation of the change. For someone with a visual impairment, there would be no way to know what happened, let alone which button to click next.

The situation worsened when entering personal details for shipment. Some mandatory form fields weren't keyboard accessible at all. I was stuck. Anyone who prefers keyboard navigation would be equally trapped.

The result was clear: users with disabilities couldn't complete their purchase. Money left on the table.

Now consider the numbers: 25% of the population experiences a disability. Of those people, 69% will abandon an inaccessible website. For an e-commerce site averaging €100 in spending with a 5% conversion rate and 100,000 monthly visitors, the math becomes stark. Of 25,000 disabled visitors monthly, 17,250 leave without purchasing. That's €86,250 in lost monthly revenue, or over €1 million annually.

That money isn't lost—it's spent elsewhere. Research shows that people with disabilities don't hunt for bargains; they seek websites that work. Your competitor with higher prices but an accessible site will capture these customers twice over.

Now ask yourself: is alt text important for your business?