Unseen Obstacles: How Blind and Low-Vision Shoppers Navigate and Struggle With Online Fashion Stores

Online fashion stores often advertise endless choice and one-click convenience. For people who rely on screen readers or magnifiers, however, that promise can collapse into frustration. A recent qualitative study followed eight blind and low-vision women as they tried to shop for clothes on Amazon using their assistive technology (AT). By observing screen-sharing sessions and conducting follow-up interviews, the researchers identified two clusters of barriers: understanding product information and navigating the site.

Decoding the Product

Colour names that make no sense: Participants were repeatedly derailed by poetic or coded colour labels “black-bf2,” “bungalow khaki,” “camo multi-3.” Without a sighted point of reference, they could not tell whether black-bf2 differed from plain black, or why camo looked more like navy and grey than green and tan.

Muddled titles and search results: Because many product titles begin with unfamiliar brand names and keyword stuffing, shoppers struggled to learn basics such as garment type or fabric before opening a page. They compensated by typing ever-longer search phrases, “long high-waisted skirt dark brown soft belt”, yet still landed on irrelevant items.

The size-chart time sink: Size information appeared in three different places: a drop-down, a hyperlink chart, and scattered text. Charts were often images that screen readers rendered as strings like “seven-to-eight nine-zero-one” or “one-thousand-one-hundred-twelve,” making them useless. Half the women gave up on a purchase because they could not confirm the right size.

Navigating the Site

The online labyrinth: Mouse-hover zoom pop-ups, dense page layouts, and autoplay ads broke the linear tab order that screen-reader users rely on. One participant summed it up: “It starts going all over the place and drives me crazy”.

A forest of products, but no reviews in sight: Star ratings were accessible, but scrolling to the actual customer reviews required jumping past promo banners and “You May Also Like” carousels. Only two of eight participants were willing to spend the five-plus minutes needed to reach the review section.

Voices in the void: Contacting customer support meant wading through loops of self-service prompts designed for sighted users. Several participants admitted they sometimes disclose their disability just to reach a human being faster, a step they resent taking.

Why It Matters

The study argues that these hurdles violate the spirit of Article 9 of the U.N. Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, which calls for equal digital access. Beyond legal compliance, inaccessible stores risk losing loyal customers who would rather ask a friend to buy for them than wrestle with confusing interfaces.

For designers and retailers, the lessons are concrete:

• Use literal colour names (“dark army green with pink accents”) instead of branding flourishes.

• Keep product titles concise and front-load the garment’s category, style, and key attributes.

• Provide text-based size charts and link them clearly after the size selector.

• Maintain a predictable tab order and minimise visual-only interactions such as hover zoom.

• Offer an easy, accessible path to reviews and real-time assistance.

Connecting the Dots to VR Shopping

Many brands are now exploring virtual-reality storefronts. The problems highlighted above—opaque labels, disorienting layouts, hidden help—will follow them into 3-D unless tackled early. Yet VR also opens new possibilities: spoken descriptions tied to objects, haptic cues that guide hand controllers to the size selector, or voice commands that jump straight to verified reviews. By translating the study’s call for clear language, consistent navigation, and multimodal feedback into immersive environments, developers can make VR shopping not just novel but genuinely empowering for blind and low-vision customers.

Reference

[1] Nicoson, E. and Ha-Brookshire, J., 2025. Beyond Accessibility Compliance: Exploring the Role of Information on Apparel Shopping Websites for the Blind and Visually Impaired. Societies, 15(4), p.90.