Fall is almost upon us. Stores are putting out the sweaters and Halloween decor, coffee shops are brewing up the pumpkin spice, and my local ice cream spots have brought back the fall-famous apple pie flavor. Fall is most definitely my favorite season. For many, fall also marks the beginning of a season of increased technology use. So much of what I and many of us traditionally do and enjoy during the last three months of the year is steadily becoming more and more reliant on the digital world.
In this post, I will be taking a look ahead at the last three months of 2025. I will discuss some areas where accessibility has traditionally been a problem. As we progress through the fall and I engage in my usual set of digital activities, it will be interesting to see what has changed and what has remained the same through my narrative blogs. As always, my commentary here will exclusively cover screen readers.
When I think of fall, it is impossible to ignore the two-plus-month event that has become Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and the holiday shopping season. The Black Friday doorbuster deals seem to be starting earlier and earlier each year, and sometimes continue through the week of Christmas.
I remember receiving my first Black Friday marketing emails last year in the first week of October, which, to my knowledge, holds the record for the earliest mention of Black Friday, at least in my personal experience. It will be interesting to see just how early the Black Friday hype begins this year.
I typically do a lot of online shopping around Black Friday in an attempt to get the best possible deals on holiday gift items, decor, and anything else I may need. Unfortunately, I have not always had the best experience when shopping online during the holiday shopping rush.
Many Black Friday deals require the user to input a promotion code distributed via email or other marketing communication. Sometimes, these codes are not screen reader accessible, which prevents me from copying and pasting the code into the checkout page of the site in question. That small barrier can end a purchase.
Often, online retailers will create a temporary page on their site dedicated to products included in a sale, allowing for a more streamlined shopping experience. I usually find that these auxiliary sections of the site suffer from significant accessibility issues, perhaps because they are often not tested for accessibility due to their temporary nature.
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In some cases, a web developer will change some of the visual design characteristics of a site’s homepage during the Black Friday season to promote visual appeal and freshness. Visual changes can disrupt heading structure or skip logical navigation landmarks. If those changes are not validated, the site looks fresh but becomes harder to use with a screen reader.
For an example of accessibility supporting e-commerce growth, see our Hibbett Sports case study
Many digital tasks directly relate to Thanksgiving and the December holidays, which have traditionally been a point of frustration when it comes to accessibility. I often ask myself the same questions each year.
Can I make a restaurant reservation and read special holiday menus in an accessible format? Many restaurants post simplified day-of menus as images or untagged PDFs. If the menu is not marked up, a screen reader cannot parse it well.
If I travel to see family, can I book flights or trains without running into unlabeled inputs or focus traps? Multi-step booking forms and payment screens are a common source of friction when labels, error messages, and keyboard focus are inconsistent.
Grocery delivery helps with holiday cooking. When cart flows, filters, and address forms are accessible, the process is simple. When they are not, I abandon the order and try a different store.
The holidays also bring new devices that utilize QR codes to direct users to digital manuals. If the QR code opens an inaccessible page, the setup stalls. A clean HTML manual with headings and clear link text makes a big difference.
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The disability community celebrates two significant events during the fall. October is National Disability Employment Awareness Month (NDEAM). NDEAM is a time to recognize the accomplishments and potential of individuals with disabilities in the workplace.
As things currently stand, not all is great for professionals with disabilities. For one, the process of browsing job opportunities and applying online is often flawed in terms of accessibility. Some key areas of concern are uploading and editing digital files, such as resumes and cover letters, and completing web forms with data about prior experiences.
In the workplace itself, inaccessibility of proprietary or specialized software needed to perform job duties, unwillingness of employers to understand disabilities and make reasonable accommodations, and a lack of flexibility on job requirements are conditions that often thwart individuals with disabilities.
Public-sector readers who own portals and job apps may find this helpful: ADA Title II Compliance Support for State and Local Governments.
In November, we celebrate World Usability Day (WUD). WUD is an opportunity to pause and acknowledge the distinctions between accessibility and usability. Experiences can meet technical accessibility requirements yet still feel clunky or inconsistent in real use.
For screen reader users, task success matters. Clear headings, predictable focus movement, understandable error handling, and consistent control names turn “technically accessible” into something genuinely usable.
Over the coming months, I will share detailed posts on these topics. I am curious to see how accessible these areas are this year compared to past experiences. Will the same issues persist? Will we see dramatic improvement? Will new and different accessibility and usability flaws crop up and dominate fall 2025? We will find out together as we enjoy the last three months of the year.
For legal context and trends, check out our regularly updated ADA website compliance lawsuit tracker