help in the long run even as though it impacts profitability now jabong and myntra also attribute their growth to an increase in its product portfolio and exclusive tieups especially with international brands the indian online retail market is estimated to grow over 4fold to touch 145 billion over rs 88000 crore by 2018 on account of rapid expansion of ecommerce in the country according to research and consultancy firm rncos that projects compound annual growth rate of 4045 per cent during 201418 the current market size of the online retail sector has been pegged at 35 billion over rs 21000 crore fashion etailing say market watchers is poised to become the top category in the near future rncos says while online sales account for nearly 4 per cent of the overall apparel market as compared to 15 per cent for smartphones and between 510 per cent for flat panel televisions digital cameras and personal care gadgets the hierarchy is set to change it is likely that few years down the line apparel and accessories will take over the top slot from electronic gadgets the rncos report said fashion etailing in india say pundits is going through the classic ecommerce growth pattern at a quick pace in a very short time the likes of jabong and myntra have crossed the first two stages attracting the first enthusiasts and seducing a wider set with product promotions the third really defining stage will come when clicking for a dress becomes an even wider habit initial growth came mostly because of early adopters the second set has come because of variety good deals and promotions as part of customer acquisition strategy triggering high growth this two categories itself represent a large market opportunity the bigbang change will be when a majority of consumers start buying fashion online just as the first two categories are doing said gaurav gupta deloittes senior director retail the twist in the fashion etailing thread is the same as that for all ecommerce the redhot growth phase thats bulking up losses jabongs losses climbed from rs 16 lakh to rs 16 crore between 201214 and 201314 myntras went up from rs 134 crore to rs 173 crore in the same period in fact the combined losses of ecommerces leading lights flipkart amazon snapdeal jabong and myntra is rs 1200 crore but pundits say losses in the big growth phase is a pain all ecommerce firms have to bear and investors look at future market grab potential on that count analysts give a thumbsup to the likes of jabong and myntra fashion etaliers are not carefree about their losses though myntra which has a more unfavourable revenueloss metric had told et last week that it is working on cutting costs improving backend supply chain efficiencies seeking more margins from brands and boosting private brand business all this in a bid to break even in the next 1518 months analysts also say the next test for etailers is to keep