Lithuania’s e-commerce market growth has come at the top out of the three Baltic states with promising growth in the years to come. The country’s e-commerce revenue reached US$ 818 million in 2020, with an increase of 18%. Online penetration has been estimated to be 46% in Lithuania, meaning that 46% of the Lithuanian population have brought at least one product online in 2020—another indicator of market saturation.

Market projections showed that Lithuanian e-commerce growth climbed steadily and reached US$ 889 million by the end of 2021. This promising growth has attracted interests from several investors looking to expand e-commerce in the region, but a fundamental issue—the lack of suitable payment options—is still working against the growth.

A recent survey showed that during the pandemic 80% of Lithuanians have formed new habits of buying online, with most of them intending to keep shopping online in the future. The increased interest in e-commerce has made Lithuanian consumers become more assertive, exploring options to buy goods online on a global scale. Unfortunately, not every Global Merchant or Payment Service Provider, working in the Baltic region, offers access to Local Payment Methods that Lithuanian consumers are accustomed to using when paying online.

Oftentimes, international e-shops allow consumers to pay only with a credit card and that poses a key problem for many—merely 16% of Lithuanians have a credit card, instead, showing a strong preference for paying through online banking payments. The lack of the option to pay with a favored payment method is reflected in the percentage of shopping cart abandonment, as nearly 60% of Europeans tend to do so if a favorite payment option is left out.