The coronavirus outbreak caused significant changes in how human beings operate across different dimensions, most notably the economic field. The containment measures set by different governments across different countries included the suspension of some economic activities including physical purchasing of goods from physical retail outlets. In Finland, this caused changes in the behaviour of consumers that include frequency of visits to the retail outlets.

The main aim of this research was to examine the COVID-19 pandemic's impact on retail customer behaviour in Finland to assist both retailers and consumers to adapt to the changes in their environment. It concentrates on delving into changes in customer behaviour, such as shopping habits, payment methods, and preferences for products that are produced locally and type of product. The techniques that retailers use to adapt to the new normal and meet the changing needs of their customers’ views of retail were outlined at the end of the thesis for use by the Finnish retailers and buyers.

This thesis used a questionnaire to collect data from a sample size of 46 participants. The results of this study showed that prior to the pandemic, most of the respondents frequently visited the retail outlets physically. Based on the results, it is evident that 19.57% of the research participants reported reducing their visits to physical retail stores after reporting being satisfied with the experience of shopping online. Additionally, preference for different types of products varied.