Retail companies operating in Lithuania are very important for the national economy. Domestic consumption has remained one of the most important drivers of Lithuania’s economic development. The objective of this article is to investigate the customer preferences and to identify selected factors of shopping centers in Vilnius, Lithuania. The study of Vilnius shopping centers is based on a complex model that integrates the following factors: shopping center goods and services, customer service, image factors, physical factors, situational factors and demographic characteristics of target consumers. Expert interviews aimed to determine the customer preference factors by perception of professional experts in relation to the phenomenon under study. The consumer survey questionnaire focuses on all the identified factors that determine the choice of a shopping center. This article identifies theoretical factors for the selection of retail shopping centers, reviews the market trends and peculiarities of Vilnius shopping centers, evaluates the factors for the selection and assess functional, emotional and communicational consumer preferences for the choice of Vilnius shopping centers.

Research background: COVID-19 pandemic became the global issue in today’s world. Due to the globalized world, the virus had a possibility to spread across the globe and infect people from different nations and continents. However, COVID-19 pandemic is the consequence of globalization that has tremendous social-economic outcomes around the globe. COVID-19 also induced the panic in mass media and governments adopted new policies and precautions in order to minimize the damage and spread of this virus. However, due to the government restrictions, the consumer behavior also had a drastic change and influenced the economy as a whole. Purpose of the article: To investigate the social-economic effects of COVID-19 pandemic in Lithuania. Methods: scientific literature analysis, statistical analysis of secondary data and comparative analysis. Findings & Value added: People are well informed about the COVID-19 pandemics in Lithuania. Thread of COVID-19 was seen as real and Lithuanians were in panic that affected their behaviour on purchasing consumer goods and services. Lithuanian economic sectors were affected differently. However, Lithuania has a mild social-economic effects of COVID-19, were more concerned about global issues related to the virus (spreading globally and in Europe, impact on economy and etc.) and less about personal, local and national issues (closure of Lithuanian borders, closure of schools and universities, crisis in tourism and other sectors).

In today's world, as cities compete in the marketplace, strategies for creating a city brand image are often shaped solely to meet the aspirations of profit, business development, and awareness. The preservation of culture, historical, and urban heritage remains important only in urban development strategies and not in actual development actions. The truth is, the image of a city is shaped by different historical, political, demographic, sociological, and economic factors which make up what we perceive as the brand image of a city. However, one of the most noticeable elements of the brand image of a city is the urban heritage based on national traditions. The aim of this article is to evaluate the effects of urban heritage initiatives in the creation of the brand image of the city of Vilnius. Research methods used in this article are qualitative content analysis and expert semi-structured interviews. Main conclusions stimulate debate, hesitation and criticism from communities and city researchers for using new heritage object and culture initiatives in order to create the brand image of Vilnius. The influence of urban heritage is inevitable when modelling the brand image of Vilnius, but there are no effective strategies to deal with the new urban heritage initiatives by creating the brand image of Vilnius yet.

Purpose – the purpose of the article is to analyze the impact effect of Influencers marketing on consumer buying behavior by determining which partnership opportunities are most relevant. Research methodology – the theoretical analysis of scientific literature and quantitative statistical analysis of empirical research results. Findings – the research in Lithuania has shown that before making a decision to purchase a product or a service, most respondents are actively seeking information in social networks by reading other costumers feedback. Moreover, the survey reveals that recommendations, comments, shared information about certain brands by Influencers are the most important factors in changing buying behavior. Research limitations – the main limitations of research may be the geographical research area – Lithuania and social networks (Facebook). Practical implications – understanding of Influencers impact on consumer buying behavior. Originality/Value – this scientific topic is rather new. Scientists, like Matsumura, Yamamoto, & Tomozawa (2008), investigated Influencers and Consumer Insights impact in the Blogosphere; Thakur, Srivastava (2015) presented a Conceptual research model of Influencers impact of Customer Satisfaction and Loyalty and etc. However, there is a lack of research investigating the impact of Influencer marketing on consumer buying behavior. This research aims to fill this gap in the Lithuanian case

This article presents the global market changes and internet era has influencing consumers today connect with brands in fundamentally new ways, often through virtual media channels that are beyond companies' control. The customers connect with many brands through new media channels, evaluate and advocate them at the same time, virtual and publically promoting the products they have liked or bought. The companies instead of focusing on how allocate spending across mediatelevision, radio, online and so forth, marketers should target more on customer decision process.Aim of paperon the basis of scientific and empirical research to evaluate the mains aspect of brand management process and provide the insights, how to increase the brand value of the virtual space.Lithuanian Marketing Association has initiated a study in 2011, aimed to find out which investigates the marketing budgets shifts of Lithuanian companies. The trend for the 2012 is an effective use of its marketing budget without reducing marketing costs for promoting the brands, building up the company's image and reputation.