Peapod LLC / Ahold U.S.A.

Online grocery, no physical store — and the DOJ still required full WCAG compliance.

Peapod was one of the original online grocery delivery services. Customers ordered through the website or mobile app, and the company delivered. In 2014, the Department of Justice settled an enforcement action requiring Peapod to make its website and mobile app fully WCAG 2.0 AA accessible — including for blind shoppers, deaf users watching demo videos, and people with motor impairments.

This settlement is the playbook DOJ has used ever since against online-only businesses. There's no physical store to point to and no "we're just a website" defense. The bigger lesson: digital-only businesses face the exact same compliance bar as any brick-and-mortar retailer.

Court

DOJ settlement agreement — no civil docket (administrative enforcement)

Case

United States v. Ahold U.S.A., Inc. and Peapod LLC (DOJ Settlement)

N/A — DOJ administrative settlement

Outcome

DOJ settlement — Peapod must conform website and app to WCAG 2.0 AA; designate Web Accessibility Coordinator; adopt accessibility policy; conduct annual user testing; retain independent consultant

What went wrong on the site

Each visual below shows what visitors with disabilities actually experienced.

Failure: Not screen-reader readable

</div>

No button role. Screen readers skip it entirely.

Custom controls had no ARIA roles, so screen readers could not announce what they were or what state they were in.

WCAG 4.1.2 Name, Role, Value

Failure: Missing captions

No CC

Deaf users get audio dialogue with no captions

Audio and video content had no closed captions — deaf and hard-of-hearing users got no access to the dialogue.

WCAG 1.2.2 Captions (Prerecorded)

Failure: No keyboard access

Small

Medium

Large

Click only — Tab key does nothing

Core interactions required a mouse. Keyboard-only users could not navigate menus, complete checkout, or operate widgets.

WCAG 2.1.1 Keyboard

Sources & documentation

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