Inclusion of People With Disabilities in Marketing: A Paradigm Shift

Introduction

In recent years, various governments have made considerable progress about the socio-economic inclusion of people with disabilities in the society. Scholars (e.g., Scott et al., 2017; Lindsay et al., 2018; González, 2021) have provided empirical justification on this by illustrating the benefits of the inclusion of people with disabilities for businesses. Some studies have shown that the global population of people with disabilities is between 9%-13% of the world population (Horgan-Jones & Ringaert, 2004). It indicates that approximately 650 million people live with disabilities globally (Domínguez et al., 2015). Similarly, Maciaszczyk and Maciaszczyk (2016) reaffirm that people with disabilities constitute about 10% of the world population, which means that around 650 million individuals live with disabilities globally. Such a growing number of consumers with disabilities have various social and economic implications in society. Domínguez et al. (2015) suggest that the figure could rise to approximately 1.2 billion by 2050. Kearney et al. (2019) conclude that people with disabilities (PwDs) constitute one of the largest minority groups, with one in five people worldwide having a disability. For example, it is estimated that 50 million people live with disabilities in the United States, and it is expected to double by 2030, which is a massive market for companies (Burnett and Baker, 2001). Higgins (2020) reports that about 80 million people live with disability in Europe, while 14 million live with disabilities in the United Kingdom and hold an estimated purchasing power of around £249bn. Despite their economic value, consumers living with disabilities are inadequately treated as a valuable segment in the marketplace. (Higgins, 2020). Despite the various justifications and proven evidence in the literature, it is observed that individuals with disabilities still face discrimination from businesses (González, 2021).

Many scholars argue that disability studies are fundamentally vital for understanding the group as a segment that should be given attention in marketing (Misener et al., 2018). However, disability studies began in the 1970s in Western societies as a scholarly discipline and professional education and are recently being discussed in the marketing discipline. The United Nations in 1981 introduced the International Year of Disabled People, which was the decisive year that disability challenges were prioritised as a human rights issue in the global community. Consequently, many disability studies were introduced. However, it was not until 2006 that the Conventions on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD) was adopted. It shows that marketing practitioners have not been able to engage this market segment meaningfully to enhance their inclusion in marketing activities (Licsandru, 2018). Therefore, marketing scholars must extend their marketing research to explore this segment of consumers. So, there should be concerted efforts to consider people with disability when conducting marketing campaigns through any media advertising channels.