UX Needs a Bigger Job — Starting With Everyone

In the D2C game, we’re obsessed with perfecting the customer journey. Think about it: a perfectly timed email lands in a user’s inbox, a personalised product rec hooks them, and a smooth checkout seals the deal. That’s where user experience (UX) comes in. It’s the glue that keeps those touchpoints running. However, I’ve been thinking lately that UX can’t just be about making things work. It’s got to go deeper, connecting with people in ways that feel personal and accessible, no matter who they are. In spaces where every click is a chance to win or lose a customer, here’s my take on why UX needs to level up.

UX: More Than Just a Smooth Ride

For me, UX is the heartbeat of customer satisfaction. A slick interface can turn a one-time browser into a repeat buyer, no question. But UX doesn’t work in isolation. It’s tangled up with personalised campaigns, CRM flows, and the whole e-commerce machine. Picture this: a customer clicks through from a tailored SMS, lands on a product page, and the vibe doesn’t match and is clashing. That’s a missed shot. Good UX ties it all together, making sure the journey feels seamless, not stitched together.

A checkout that doesn’t glitch is awesome, but if it’s a nightmare for someone on a screen reader or baffles a newbie, we’re dropping the ball. Accessibility isn't just a nice-to-have, it’s a revenue play. The World Health Organisation pegs over 1 billion people living with disabilities globally, and in D2C, where margins are tight and loyalty is gold, ignoring them is like tossing cash out the window. Plus, here’s the kicker: designing for inclusivity often makes the experience better for everyone. It’s maybe treated as charity today but it's actually smart business.

The Real-World Challenges

Focus on accessibility features in UX is not new. I remember teams working on this for more than a decade. However, we are still not quite there yet. Why? I think it is because weaving inclusivity into the mix is tough when you’re moving fast. I’ve been on projects where deadlines are screaming, budgets are thin, and adding stuff like alt text or high-contrast options feels like a sprint detour. Most teams I’ve worked with treat WCAG (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines) as an extra layer, not something baked into the core.

And the pace is relentless. You’re optimising a landing page one day, launching a campaign the next. Carving out time for accessibility can feel like a luxury. Then there’s the headspace challenge. When I’m knee-deep in a project, it’s easy to lean on my own lens and see how I’d navigate a site or react to a nudge. But our customers are all over the map: the 20-something power user, the harried parent one-handing their phone, the 60-something dipping their toes into online shopping. Getting those perspectives right takes effort, but it’s what makes our campaigns hit home. In D2C marketing, where personalisation is our specialty, UX has to mirror that.

Making It Work Together

Customers don’t mess around. They want speed and simplicity, whether they’re clicking a custom link or wrapping up a buy. Our job is to make sure UX doesn’t just keep up but amplifies the whole experience. Take a CRM-driven email flow. If it’s a cluttered mess, no amount of site-side UX magic will save it. It’s about syncing every step (email, landing page, checkout) into one fluid ride.

I love how brands like Airbnb nail this. They’ve built accessibility filters right into their platform, born from real user feedback. It’s not just for the folks who need it. It sharpens the whole experience. That’s the trick. Design for the edges, and the middle wins too. For example, closed captions were created as an accessibility feature but are now used widely by everyone to watch videos on mute. Text-to-speech tools designed for blind users are widely used now to “read” a book while jogging, driving, or cooking.

Tech is also your friend here. AI can flag stuff like low-contrast text or missing captions before launch. But tools don’t cut it alone. It’s about culture. If the decision-makers care, it flows down. I’ve seen brands kill it by baking inclusivity into their playbooks or design guides that scream “diversity first” from day one.

The Bigger Picture

To me, UX isn’t just about getting from A to B. It’s about who’s along for the ride and how they feel. The best designs don’t just function; they pull people in. I think about that single parent swiping with one hand, the newbie wrestling with an unfamiliar layout, or the older user still getting comfy with tech. That’s my crew. It’s messier than chasing pure efficiency, but man, it’s worth it.

As digital keeps eating the world, I reckon the winners won’t just be the fastest or flashiest. They’ll be the ones reflecting the real, wild diversity of their customers. UX isn’t about killing friction anymore. It’s about sparking connections.