Getting access to food and other necessities has been very important for every household in China ever since the coronavirus broke out over a month ago. Chinese oil giant Sinopec is selling groceries in a touch-free style, and this has become increasingly popular among car owners.

Here are the three steps to buy groceries from a gas station. Step one, download the Easy Joy App. Easy Joy is Sinopec's convenience store brand. When you open it, the promotion page for groceries will pop up. Register and order.

Step two, drive to the gas station you have chosen to pick up your order. You don't need to get out of your car or roll down your window. Staff will come to you and confirm your order, and put your order into the trunk. 

Step three, drive back home. Zero contact.

"During the current virus outbreak, it's not easy to buy groceries. Supermarkets can be crowded and people want to avoid the crowds. And on the supply side, many farmers struggle to sell their products. Sinopec is linking supply and demand to fulfill our corporate social responsibility as a major state-owned company," said Zeng Tao, deputy general manager of Sinopec Marketing Beijing Company.

Sinopec started the grocery business on February 8 in Beijing, where 110 tons of vegetables have been sold so far. Every day, over 10 tons of vegetables are sold. That number can be ten times higher when taking into account 6,100 Sinopec's Easy Joy Convenience Stores in 147 cities.

Sinopec's move comes as online retailers, such as Alibaba's Hema and JD.com's 7 Fresh, are overwhelmed by orders for food deliveries amid the coronavirus outbreak. Sinopec plans to continue and upgrade this service even after the epidemic.

"We are going to team up with China Union Pay to offer discounts to customers who use Union Pay, as a way to promote this service. We will very soon, probably next week, upgrade our service by allowing orders to be placed online and picked up the next day," Zeng told CGTN.

Analysts praise Sinopec's bold and innovative step. Chen Jiahe, chief investment officer of Novem Arcae Technologies, noted that Sinopec's grocery business will face more competition after the virus is over.

"That's when the supermarket's business goes back to normal. But Sinopec is still very innovative you have to admit. It's a marvelous idea and it improves the efficiency of our society," Chen commented.

And he says Sinopec's move offers people another choice when shopping groceries and improves efficiency, because every time customers fuel up their oil tanks, they can also stock up on food. And that makes sense not only during the virus outbreak but also after the epidemic.