While the red ink spreads at online retailers SurfStitch and Temple & Webster, fashion site The Iconic expects to swing into the black next year after shifting its focus from "anyone with a credit card" to tech-savvy Gen X and Yers and getting retail basics right.

After losing $109 million between 2012 and 2014, losses at the pure-play online retailer narrowed in 2015 after a 60 per cent increase in sales and the improving trend has continued this calendar year, said The Iconic chief executive Patrick Schmidt and managing director Adam Jacobs.