Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services 9 (2002) 227–239 How can retailers enhance accessibility: giving consumers with visual impairments a voice in the marketplace Stacey Menzel Baker a, *, Debra Lynn Stephens b , Ronald Paul Hill b a College of Business Administration, Bowling Green State University, 249 Business Administration Building, Bowling Green, OH 43403, USA b Dr. Robert B. Pamplin, Jr. School of Business Administration, University of Portland, USA Abstract Marketplace accessibility is a global issue; one that is important to nations, businesses (large and small), and consumers throughout the world. This paper explores visually impaired consumers’ perceptions of marketplace accessibility in the United States, since the enactment of the American with Disabilities Act (ADA) in 1990. It reveals what has been accomplished thus far, and what needs to be done. The paper begins with a brief description of different types of visual impairments and is followed by an explanation of marketplace accessibility, including Title III regulations of the ADA and previous studies examining the issue. A qualitative study, which explores accessibility experiences of consumers with visual impairments, is then described and results are presented. The paper concludes by presenting a set of managerial guidelines that are believed to enhance the quality of face-to-face interactions between service personnel and/or salespeople and their customers with visual impairments. r 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved. Keywords: Marketplace accessibility; Americans with Disabilities Act; Services marketing; Visual impairments; Disabilities; Employee training; Accommodation and integration 1. Introduction This paper begins with the assumption that managers want to provide quality service to all of their customers and that they want their customers to feel satisfied with their service encounters. To do that, managers must first try to understand their customers. However, there are often unseen or unknowable problems that complicate the success of such encounters. Such problems may stem from the unique experiences which consumers with disabilities face every day. That is, non-disabled managers and employees may not know the experiences of those with disabilities, because they have never been ‘‘in their place’’ (Gould, 1998). The World Health Organization estimates that between seven and ten percent of the world’s population has a disability of some type (Eckhard, 1999). Most likely using a slightly broader definition of disability, US Census Bureau statistics estimate that 54 million Americans (one in five or 20 percent of the US population) have mental and physical disabilities (McNeil, 2000). These people are limited in some significant life ability that impairs their daily activities. Such impairments include mental, mobility, and speech limitations; deafness; and visual impairments, the latter of which is the topic of the present study. A visual impairment that ‘‘substantially limits one or more of the major life activities’’ is considered a disability as defined in the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) (1990, Section III). The ADA provides for access to public transportation, public accommodations and services, and telecommunications, as well as prohibits discrimination against persons with disabilities in hiring and promotion decisions (Fersh and Thomas, 1993). Title III of the ADA directly affects service providers in that they are required to accommodate customers with a variety of disabilities (EEOC, 1991). People may be uncertain as to what kind of assistance is expected and appropriate for interaction between a sighted and a blind person (cf. Strenta and Kleck, 1984; Stone et al., 1992). For example, service providers may know what they ought to do, but may not know how. Thus, by gaining a deeper understanding of the experiences of people with visual impairments (or any other types of disabilities), they may be empowered to *Corresponding author. Tel.: +1-419-372-7269; fax: +1-419-372-8062. E-mail address: skbaker@cba.bgsu.edu (S.M. Baker). 0969-6989/02/$-see front matter r 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved. PII:S0969-6989(01)00034-0