Expanding Your Market: Building a Diverse Customer Base

The ADA’s Benefits to Businesses

It is clearly in the interest of businesses to make their facilities and services accessible to customers with disabilities. According to the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2002 Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP), there are 51.2 million Americans with disabilities in the United States. The U.S. Department of Labor states that people with disabilities have $175 billion annually in discretionary spending power.

People with disabilities are of all ages, are members of all racial, ethnic, and cultural groups, and live in communities large and small throughout the country. According to the SIPP, 19.8% of Black Americans reported that they have disabilities while 19.0% of Whites, 13.8% of Hispanics/Latinos, and 11.5% of Asian/Pacific Islanders self-identified as having disabilities. The ADA protects the civil rights of all Americans.