How Square Is making Retail Work accessible to all

In late February, San Francisco-based Square put out a press release in which the company announced Blind Vendors Ohana (BVO) chose Square point-of-sale systems to power Pages & Pages retail locations at Honolulu’s Daniel K. Inouye International Airport. Square was chosen for its “innovative accessibility features intentionally built into its hardware and software, along with robust multi-location inventory management and staff training capabilities essential for high-traffic airport retail.”

“Operating in one of the nation’s 30 busiest airports, Pages & Pages is transforming how its blind and low-vision employees serve over 21 million travelers annually,” Block, Square’s parent company, wrote on February 23. “The implementation of Square’s accessible technology suite marks a significant upgrade from a prior, decades-old system that limited employee independence and operational efficiency. By switching to Square, Pages & Pages team members can now easily and confidently manage sales, track inventory, and serve customers without needing additional support.”

Square posted a video about BVO and Pages & Pages on its YouTube channel.

A few months following the announcement, I recently connected via email with Troy Nakamura, BVO’s operations manager, for a brief interview about the news. Born and raised on Hawaii Island, he helps oversee 10 Pages & Pages stores at the Honolulu airport, telling me he’s “proud” to be part of an organization devoted to creating meaningful opportunities to the Blind and low vision community in the workforce.

When asked why BVO ultimately identified Square’s technology as the best on the market, accessibility-wise, Nakamura explained BVO recognized they needed a point-of-sale system which could “better support” its Blind and low vision workers while also enhancing the customer experience. BVO’s previous point-of-sale, or POS, terminals, were outmoded and thus “limited employee independence,” he added.

“What stood out about Square was the accessibility,” Nakamura said. “The platform supports VoiceOver, QuickNav keyboard navigation, and [Apple’s] Magic Trackpad navigation, which allows our Blind employees to independently navigate the system, manage sales, track inventory, and serve customers with confidence. The system has also helped us operate more efficiently across all 10 airport locations, which is important in a fast-paced environment serving millions of travelers every year.”

Nakamura told me feedback on the Square devices has been “extremely positive,” adding BVO employees are “happy” with their performance, convenience, and reliability. The switch obviously necessitated some training, leading to a learning curve, but Nakamura said employees have been instilled with greater feelings of independence and self-esteem by using Square’s devices. Moreover, BVO was appreciative of Square’s willingness to send its own workers to Hawaii in order to “learn directly about our needs and make improvements to the ecosystem.” That gesture, Nakamura said, meant a lot because “I believe it helped make the technology more accessible for a wider range of users, including Blind and disabled employees.”

Broadly speaking, Nakamura is bullish on the state of accessibility in tech. Companies, Square included, are making great strides in its empathy and inclusion efforts, but he emphasized consistency is key. Companies must be diligent in keeping accessibility “top of mind” when they change or update their products, he said. “Sometimes features improve accessibility, but future updates unintentionally remove or change them, creating new barriers,” Nakamura said. “The best results occur when companies continue to work closely with the Blind and disabled community over time.”

Looking towards the future, Nakamura told me he believes there exists “real opportunity” for companies to view accessibility as something that benefits everyone, not merely people with disabilities. Hearkening back to his earlier point about Square’s products being not only accessible but also being good for customers, Nakamura noted many technologies designed for Blind and low vision people can also have pertinence to others and thus shape uniquely positive user experiences all around.

“My hope is that more companies continue building accessibility into products from the start and recognize that inclusive technology creates better systems for the entire community,” Nakamura said.