Retailers, hairdressers and other service providers will have to ensure at least 20 square meters of floor space per customer or serve only one customer at a time.
"Today, our task is to get moving from a certain point and see how we manage," Prime Minister Ingrida Simonyte told the Cabinet.
The permission to reopen is limited to shops that have a floor space of up to 300 square meters and "direct access from the street or a separate entrance used only by the shop's customers".
The Cabinet rejected a request from Ruta Vainiene, director of the Lithuanian Association of Trade Companies, to increase the space limit to 500 square meters.
The government also allowed street vendors to sell non-food products.
The current restrictions on movement and gatherings remain in place.
Hairdressers, beauty salons and most non-food stores in Lithuania have been closed since December 16.