New Agency to Help Companies Look at People with Disabilities as Consumers, not “Causes”
 
It’s time for companies to stop looking at accessibility as the nice thing to do and focus on why it’s the financially smart thing to do, according to a new agency promoting accessibility as a driver for profit.
 
In Canada, the 8 million people with disabilities (PWDs) have about $47 billion in disposable income — the opposite of a niche market. Adding their families and friends, this grows to 12 million Canadians, or more than a third of the population, with an estimated disposable income exceeding $311 billion, based on 2020 statistics.
 
Substance Accessibility, launched today in Toronto, Ontario, works to give companies an edge in their industry by leveraging accessibility as a business driver while helping strengthen the connection with the global disability market.
 
Mark Demontis is the Chief Accessibility Officer for Substance Accessibility. Mark is a leading accessibility strategist with 15 years of experience in the field. Having lost his sight at 17, he founded Canadian Blind Hockey for blind or partially sighted Canadians and has raised funds by inline skating over 8,000 kilometres.
 
Mark has worked as the accessibility advisor to the Premier of Ontario and some of Canada’s top brands including the NHL and Lululemon. His firsthand experience as both sighted and visually impaired provides him with unique insights into the consumer behaviours of both markets.
 
“I understand the financial opportunities for companies that prioritize accessibility. I know what it's like to be a consumer with a disability walking into a store that’s not accessible to me or trying to purchase from a website that’s not accessible. I also know what it’s like to buy from brands that are accessible, and I can tell you I am more loyal and spend more money on those brands,” he says.
 
Accessibility Makes Dollars and Sense
•       RBC reports that Canadians with disabilities have a disposable income of up to 50 billion dollars;
•       The Disability Market has $13 trillion in annual disposable income (a market bigger than China), according to Return on Disability’s “The Global Economics of Disability 2020” report;
•       A fully inclusive society could generate an economic benefit of $337 billion (approximately 17% of Canada’s GDP).
 
According to StatsCan, 27% of Canadians aged 15 years and older, or 8.0 million people, have one or more disabilities that limit them in their daily activities. The rate of disability in Canada has increased by 5% since 2017, when 22% of Canadians, or 6.2 million people, had one or more disabilities.
 
Six in 10 persons with disabilities (4.8 million people) experience barriers related to accessing indoor and outdoor public spaces. Barriers related to physical spaces, such as entrances and sidewalks, are the most common barriers (56%), followed by barriers related to communication (48%).
 
It is predicted that by 2040, the number of individuals with disabilities will rise to 40% of the population. While Canada has set an ambitious goal to become a “barrier-free society” by 2040, many companies continue to see accessibility as a CSR initiative, rather than a business-building undertaking.
 
Substance Accessibility, part of The Substance Group, has a three-phased approach, beginning with auditing brands on compliance with legislative accessibility standards. This is followed by training in customer service, communications, employment and the built environment. Additionally, it helps brands design and deliver products, services, and experiences to disability audiences. All the activities are offered from a business-building lens.
 
For more information on accessibility as a business driver, or for an interview with Mark Demontis, please contact:
 
Andrea Chrysanthou
The Substance Group
416-797-8194