The topic of this thesis is related to the research of consumer preferences during online purchases of sports equipment in the Republic of Croatia. Today, in the Republic of Croatia and the worldwide, it is impossible not to buy products online. The population around the world is increasingly shopping online and the development of the Internet has played a major role in the expansion of online shopping and consequently the emergence of social networks that have become people's everyday lifestyle. The development of online shopping has also had an impact on the development of online shopping in the sports equipment market. The paper describes the size of the global sports equipment market, trends prevailing in the sports equipment market, the impact of the technology and the Internet on consumer behaviour and their decision-making on online shopping and the impact of advertising through websites and social networks to increase online shopping for sports equipment. The aim of this paper is to identify the wishes and preferences of consumers in the Republic of Croatia during online purchases of sports equipment and this was done by a survey conducted through an online survey questionnaire. 140 respondents participated in the research and the majority of them are females (60%) and people of younger age. The conducted research showed that trends in the sports equipment market are also changing. More and more people are deciding to purchase sports equipment online due to various benefits such as saving free time, speed of selection and purchase, development of delivery services, avoidance of crowds and various discounts and promotions on online products.