Research conducted by Texthelp – the global leader in literacy, numeracy and accessibility technology – in collaboration with YouGov – revealed that one in four (27 per cent) adults aged over 50 encountered issues when accessing websites during the Covid-19 pandemic. With the over 50s accounting for over 25 million people in the UK (source: ONS), this data suggests older people are struggling to navigate vital services online.
The report, Improving online accessibility for the ‘silver surfer’, found that of those that experienced accessibility issues, almost a third (31 per cent) of UK respondents had trouble knowing what to do or what to click on. Nearly half of all users also found that the links in the sites were not working (46 per cent) and 63 per cent of users who experienced issues found the visual layout and design of sites overly complicated. Reading text on websites was also a challenge, with 20 per cent of respondents indicating they would prefer larger text. 22 per cent wanted the content on websites, such as words and instructions, to be easier to understand.
95 per cent of over 50s and over 65s surveyed used online retail sites during lockdown. Amongst this group, 34 per cent regularly shopped for groceries online while only 14 per cent shopped for clothes online. The popularity of shopping online amongst the over 50s is set to continue post-lockdown, with 31 per cent of users planning on doing grocery shopping online and 44 per cent buying other products such as clothing and homeware online.
With an ageing population and a growing number of ‘silver surfers’ online, accessibility issues like these will continue to grow unless addressed by organisations. With over half of respondents (56 per cent) planning to continue using online services as frequently as when they did during lockdown, websites need to make sure that different accessibility requirements are met.
Martin McKay, CEO & Founder at Texthelp says: “The pandemic has fast-tracked the transition to digital. Many products and services previously available on the high-street, at a GP surgery or in a shop are now only available online.
Older generations have been forced to migrate online, where they might have been resistant before. However, our research shows that many private and public organisations are failing to accommodate the needs of older generations. Many websites are built without accessibility in mind and this means certain groups are being locked out of vital services. A quarter of over 50s experienced issues when accessing services or products online – this isn’t a number that we can just ignore. This data should serve as a wake-up call to both public and private sector organisations alike.”
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