A dynamic transformation in the structures, forms and organization of retail trade has been observed for many years, as well as changes in the preferences and behaviour of customers of retail outlets. These phenomena have been further accelerated during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, research about changes induced by the pandemic are still in an initial phase of empirical recognition, which needs to be deepen and persistence of changes should be evaluated. The main aim of the study was to identify changes induced by the pandemic in the manner, form and frequency of purchases of different product groups by retail customers. To fulfil these tasks, the results of own research from two subsequent editions, i.e. from 2021 and 2022, were used. The obtained results indicate a growing percentage of customers who declared changes in retail purchases in the analysed period, while this increase was relatively lowest in the case of purchases of food products. The research results also reveal multi-directional changes in purchasing behaviour regarding the subgroups of products adopted for the analysis. In the case of groceries, customers were more likely to make larger one-off purchases by limiting their frequency than to purchase household supplies through online shopping. The opposite phenomenon was characteristic of clothing, footwear and consumer electronics/household appliances. Buying them the respondents transferred their shopping activity to the Internet, with a lower than in the case of food tendency to increase one-time purchases and to limit their frequency.