A guide to navigating the European Accessibility Act for online retailers, service providers and platforms

From 28 June 2025, the European Accessibility Act (Directive (EU) 2019/882) (the EAA) comes into force across the European Union through the national implementing laws of each Member State. The EAA will harmonise accessibility requirements across the EU for several mainstream consumer digital products and services for the first time. 

E-commerce and the EAA

The EAA applies to all retailers and service providers selling goods and services to consumers in the EU. 

The products and services to which the EAA applies are those which have been identified as being most important for individuals with disabilities while being most likely to have diverging accessibility requirements across the EU Member States. ‘E-commerce services’ are one such service. The EAA applies to any provider that offers e-commerce services to consumers in the EU regardless of whether that provider is in the EU or not, and regardless of whether the services or products sold by the provider are otherwise within the scope of the EAA. 

E-commerce services under the EAA broadly include online sales of any product or service, and cover not just retail businesses but any organisation that offers a product or service for sale online to an EU consumer. The services that are captured by the category ‘e-commerce services’ are consequently very broad; it includes not only steps to complete purchases, but all steps that lead to the conclusion of a transaction with a consumer. 

Accessibility requirements for e-commerce services

A stated objective of the EAA is that it aims to improve access to e-commerce services and other in-scope products and services “that, through their initial design or subsequent adaptation, address the particular needs of persons with disabilities”. It does so by making functional accessibility requirements mandatory and sets out general accessibility requirements for all in-scope services as well as additional accessibility requirements that apply specifically to e-commerce services. 

The accessibility requirements for e-commerce services include:

• making websites, including online and mobile apps, easily accessible in a consistent and adequate way by making them perceivable, operable, understandable and robust.
• using, where available, support services (e.g. help desks or call centres) to provide information on the accessibility of the service and its compatibility with assistive technologies.
• providing information on the accessibility of the products and services being sold (when this information is provided by the producer or provider of the product service).
• providing identification methods, electronic signatures, and payment services which are perceivable, operable, understandable and robust.

These requirements align with internationally recognised digital accessibility standards such as the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (‘WCAG’) and EN 301 549, the EU’s current harmonised digital accessibility standard (for example, requirements that digital experiences are “perceivable, operable, understandable, and robust”). The EAA, however, also introduces additional requirements (e.g. offline help desk support) not covered by these existing standards, and one must also remember that compliance is not optional, so care must be taken to map the obligations applicable to your business in each member state. 

Obligations for online retailers and service providers, and the impact on platforms

The EAA imposes immediate and ongoing compliance obligations on all retailers and service providers entering into e-commerce transactions with consumers in the EU from 28 June 2025. These obligations include:

• ensuring that the e-commerce service provider designs and provides their service according to the EAA’s accessibility requirements.
• preparing a publicly available accessibility notice or statement, in written and oral formats, on the service they offer and how this meets the accessibility requirements.
• ensuring procedures are in place for continuing conformity with the accessibility requirements and take into account any changes.
• cooperating with requests and other actions of national compliance authorities.

In advance of 28 June 2025, companies operating in the EU will need to take action to put such processes and procedures in place.

Platforms facilitating e-commerce transactions between merchants and consumers will also need to consider how to ensure that they deliver a platform service which facilitates compliance with the EAA.

Harmonised standards and presumption of conformity

The nature of e-commerce, which typically operates across several territories, presents a daunting challenge for many providers who will need to grapple with the accessibility laws and regulatory requirements of 27 Member States before June 2025. There will, however, be an opportunity for businesses to rely upon a ‘presumption of conformity’ across the EU under certain conditions.

In-scope services that conform to harmonised standards developed by the European Standardisation Organisations and adopted by the European Commission will be presumed to be in conformity with the EAA’s accessibility requirements across the EU (to the extent the standards cover the applicable requirements for the service). Alignment with the harmonised standards is voluntary and businesses may seek to achieve compliance through other technical means. 

As yet, no harmonised standard has yet been adopted for the EAA and an updated version of EN 301 549 is expected but not yet available. Six new and revised standards are expected and due to be published in early 2025.

Opportunities for the online retail sector

From June 2025, enforcement powers for national regulators and rights of action for consumers will be introduced across the EU. As well as a compelling legal case for compliance, there is also a business case to be made. According to Eurostat, 101 million people, or one in four people over the age of 16 in the EU, have a disability. The prevalence of barriers to accessibility online often results in abandoned transactions by frustrated consumers and loss of potential revenue for the business (for example, one survey carried out in Germany found that 75% of the most visited online shops were not accessible and another in Ireland found that 72% of household name brands did not have accessible websites). The European Commission has emphasised that inclusive online services may better reach this larger, mostly untapped market and that the EAA will facilitate such cross-border trade for both consumers and businesses. 

From a legal perspective, in-house teams will need to ensure that those upgrading digital interfaces, products and services are aware of the legal framework informing this change in their particular marketplaces, and also regarding the consequences of non-compliance. 

6 months to go: Next steps

With only six months to go before the EAA comes into force, all online retailers and service providers selling to consumers, and platforms facilitating transactions, need to take steps to assess and address the impact of the EAA upon their business, with a view to ensuring their e-commerce practices and products are EAA-ready by 28 June 2025. We are helping a wide range of businesses address their requirements, and the approach taken will vary depending on the size of the business, their geographical reach in the EU and the nature of their e-commerce transactions. We have helped clients with many, many impacted products across 27 Member States, while others have only required consideration of requirements in a single jurisdiction in respect of very simple sales processes. However, all companies, at a minimum, should consider the following steps:

1. Assess which aspects of your B2C or P2B2C business activities are in-scope and familiarise yourself with the applicable accessibility requirements in the EAA.
2. Identify which EU countries are relevant to your in-scope e-commerce activity, and identify whether any additional local requirements apply through national implementing laws. 
3. Conduct a gap analysis to identify whether applicable accessibility requirements are met or missing within your business.
4. Formulate a plan to achieve and maintain EAA compliance with various functions within the business. 
5. Update internal policies and procedures and train appropriate staff (e.g. design, sales, support, UX teams). 
6. Review  and revise your vendor / supplier contracts to ensure responsibility for complying with the accessibility requirements is appropriately allocated all the way through your supply chain.
7. Prepare and publish the public-facing documentation required to be published by the applicable laws, including the accessibility notice or statement, ensuring all mandatory information required by the EAA is included. Review these regularly. 
8. Regularly review and monitor developments in relation to the approach taken by the EU regulators to supervision and enforcement in the countries in which you are regulated.

For more information on the EAA, including an overview of the products and services subject to it, and its accessibility requirements, exemptions and enforcement measures, please see our previous article: European Accessibility Act: Is it time to update your websites, products & services to meet Europe’s accessibility requirements? 

For further information or for help with your EAA compliance plans, please contact Deirdre Kilroy and Kelly Mackey.

Information correct as of 8 January 2025.