Potential of using groceries in disasters/pandemics management: case of Al Ain City, UAE

Figures & data

Table 1. Top ten keyword occurrences on research related to groceries.

Keyword	Occurrences	%
COVID-19	289	44.6
Online shopping	119	18.4
Accessibility	43	6.6
Nutrition	33	5.1
Food Access	31	4.8
Retail	31	4.8
Grocery	30	4.6
Consumer behavior	28	4.3
Food availability	26	4.0
Food environment	18	2.8
Total	648	100

Table 2. Demographic characteristics of respondents (number of respondents = 254).

Variable	Variable	Frequency	Percent
Gender	Male	62	24.4
	Female	192	75.6
Education	School	11	4.3
	University	211	83.1
	Graduate (Master or PhD)	32	12.6
Marital status	Married	59	23.2
	Single	195	76.8
Employment status	Employed	57	22.4
	Unemployed	197	77.6
Age	Less than 18 years old	20	8
	Between 18 and 25 years old	200	78.7
	More than 25 years old	30	11.8
	Missing	4	1.6
Income	Low: Income below AED 10,000 per month	121	47.6
	Medium: Income between AED 10,000 to 20,000 per month	42	16.5
	High: Income greater than AED 20,000 per month	91	35.8

Table 3. Food needs (number of respondents = 254).

Variable		Frequency	Percent
Nonperishable food	Dry grains and beans	39	15.4
	Flour	37	14.6
	Lentils	17	6.7
	Rice	161	63.4
Canned food	Beans	21	8.3
	Chicken	89	35.0
	Fruits	25	9.8
	Milk	89	35.0
	Tuna	30	11.8
Amount of rice needed	Less than 5 kg	68	26.8
	between 5 and 15 kg	130	51.2
	15–20 kg	38	15.0
	More than 20 kg	18	7.1
Amount of canned food	Less than 5 kg	115	45.3
	between 5 and 15 kg	103	40.6
	15–20 kg	25	9.8
	More than 20 kg	11	4.3

Table 4. Perception of the public on the role of groceries during COVID-19.

Opinion statement	Mean	SD	Level
1. Grocery infrastructure	3.19	0.73	Moderate
2. Sales increased during the COVID-19	3.75	1.15	High
3. Grocery staff complied with public health measures	3.93	1.10	High
4. Grocery staff need to be educated on hygiene	4.00	1.11	High
5. Grocery’s role is vital during pandemic or disaster	4.21	1.06	Very High

Table 5. Correlation between size of groceries and total monthly sale.

			Size of grocery	Total monthly sale
Spearman’s rho	Size	Correlation coefficient	1.000	.602**
		Sig. (2-tailed)	.	<.001
		N	100	100
	Sale	Correlation Coefficient	.602**	1.000
		Sig. (2-tailed)	<.001	.
		N	100	100

**. Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed).

Table 6. Point pattern analysis using average nearest neighbor.

Observed Mean Distance	317.2660 Meters
Expected Mean Distance	711.4248 Meters
Nearest Neighbor Ratio	0.445959
z-score	−17.024836
p-value	<0.01

Figure 1. Spatial distribution of groceries in relation to population.

Table 7. Sample of hot spot results.

District	Population	Groceries	GiZScore	GiPValue
1. Sanaya	35086	40	2.862769708	0.004199557
2. Zakhir	13470	34	2.277063701	0.022782422
3. Al Jimi	25284	28	1.691036517	0.090829828
4. Central Business	37337	22	1.105778346	0.268822487
5. Al Mutawaa	2891	1	−0.943546259	0.345401577
6. Al Qattara	5111	2	−0.845793928	0.397667722
7. Al Bateen	446	3	−0.748795273	0.453980615
8. Al Agbiyaa	2536	3	−0.748536768	0.454136462
9. Al Mutaredh	11731	3	−0.748482021	0.454169472
10. Al Masoudi	3533	3	−0.748260109	0.454303287

Figure 2. Lorenz curve for number of groceries and population.

Figure 3. Vulnerability of groceries to flash floods.

Table 8. Vulnerability of groceries to flash flood.

Flood vulnerability	Number of groceries	% Of groceries
Low	192	74.42
Medium	52	20.15
High	14	5.43
	258	100

Data availability statement

The data used in this study is available from the corresponding author upon request.