The Rise And Fall Of Face Shield On The Ghanaian Market

The plastic face shield was a 'hot' commodity in Ghana within May, June, and early parts of July. This was as a result of the continuous increases in the number of infections and the difficulties by people to wear the nose masks for longer hours.

This compelled many people to switch to the face shield and thereby, raising its popularity and demand on the market.

Many Ghanaians with their ingenuity at work and the need to take advantage of the coronavirus pandemic to create opportunities for themselves, decided to venture into face shield production to get as many people as possible to get protected from the virus.

The mad rush for these shields by persons who might have been tired by the continuous wearing of nose masks caused a hike in prices.

A plastic face shield that came with glasses was initially sold at GH₵ 50.00.

The minimum price at that time stood at GH₵25.00.

The face shield soon became an accessory worn by many attending parties, weddings, funerals, and so on.

The hype of the product on social media and the mysterious imaginary demands of huge quantities ranging between 10,000 and 20,000, per month by some people, also contributed to the hike in prices.

Some people said it was a scheme by sellers who sought to create the impression of its high demand on the market.

It, however, did work on some Ghanaians.

People bought these 'fast-selling' face shields in huge quantities to resell.

However, most of them sadly regretted their actions in a few weeks.

The price of the commodity within a few weeks sadly jumped to as low as ₵GH 2.00 on the Ghanaian market, but still, people seem not to buy them.

Not able to withstand, many investors in the face shield business had adopted the 'reduce to clear' strategy to clear their stock, but still people are not buying.

It has become a bad business for those who still have it in stock.

Their problem had been compounded by new information from health officials that the face shield alone was not enough to protect oneself from contracting the virus.

According to health officials, one needs to wear a nose mask in addition to the face shield to reduce the risk of contracting the virus.

People understand now that nose masks are more protective than the face shield and have, therefore, decided to use them instead of the face shield.

Why should the face shield be gone so soon? Indeed, fast business has gone bad.

---GNA