Sharing the Experience of Mobility-Disabled Consumers

Abstract

The ten-year anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) stimulated discussions regarding its effectiveness in bringing full-market access to persons with disabilities. The picture is mixed, revealing that the ADA's architectural mandates do not fully address the physical and emotional needs of disabled consumers. In the present article, the author develops a framework representing how mobility-disabled consumers experience and manage their behaviors in the retail environment. That framework is used to identify whether store designs can “disable” persons with mobility impairments by implementing architectural choices that assume able-bodied customers. In addition, aspects of the disabled person's experiences in negotiating a consumer identity in retail environments is examined. One study examines observations made while simulating a disability. A second study considers observations made while partnered with a disabled person. The findings generate insights into the psychological and interpersonal barriers that the ADA does not address under a strictly architectural approach.