How Amazon is made ‘Accessible for everyone’
Amazon last week published a blog post on its European site in which the Seattle-based company detailed myriad ways it makes Amazon “accessible for everyone.” The post, bylined by the About Amazon Team, was shared coincident with the recent enforcement of the European Accessibility Act. Amazon said it is “well prepared” for the legislation.
“Amazon’s vision is to be Earth’s most customer-centric company, which means making our devices and services accessible to everyone. We have pioneered accessibility features across our products and services for over a decade and our commitment to accessibility is deeply rooted in our customer-obsessed culture. For us, this is more than meeting requirements: it’s about staying true to our mission of serving every customer,” Amazon wrote of its North Star in the post’s introduction. “We design with inclusivity at the forefront, making our products and services accessible to all customers. By integrating new technologies, such as AI, we are able to create solutions that enhance the experience for all customers, including those with specific accessibility needs. This shows that when accessibility is treated not as an afterthought but as a core design principle, technology can truly become a force for inclusion.”
The post, the scope of which is familiar, offers a cursory rundown of the accessibility attributes of Amazon-branded products—including Alexa, Fire TV, Kindle, Prime Video, and more. In addition, the company highlights how it has made the general shopping experience more inclusive and which goes beyond “more than just a well-structured webpage.” The company mentions features such as Navigation Assistant and Product Summary, both of which are characterized as helping keyboard-oriented and/or screen reader users “shop more efficiently, showing that accessibility and convenience go hand-in-hand.” Likewise, Amazon Locker locations, where people go to a physical place to retrieve their order(s), features a Lower Locker Slot selection for wheelchair users, as well as an audio-based UI (with audio jack) for the Blind and low vision.
“More than 100 million people have disabilities in Europe,” Peter Korn, director of accessibility for Amazon devices, said in a statement. “What I love most about this work is how it embodies one of Amazon’s core principles: Customer Obsession. Building products customers love means including them in the process, not only by talking directly with customers with accessibility needs, including the elderly or with disabilities. Our culture of inclusion is also reflected in the many people with disabilities who work throughout Amazon in diverse roles—including our product teams.”
I covered the redesigned Prime Video app last summer; my report included interviews with executives Raf Soltanovich and Kam Keshmiri. And I last spoke with Korn last year about, amongst other things, using artificial intelligence to power search on Fire TV.
For more on the European Accessibility Act, check out my story earlier this week on it.
