A SKU (Stock Keeping Unit) is a unique alphanumeric code you assign to each product variant in your inventory. It identifies the specific item by attributes like size, colour, and style for tracking purposes.
A SKU (Stock Keeping Unit) is a unique alphanumeric code you assign to each product variant in your inventory. It identifies the specific item by attributes like size, colour, and style for tracking purposes.
SKUs are your internal tracking system for products. Unlike barcodes (UPC/EAN) which are universal, SKUs are created by you and meaningful to your business. A good SKU system encodes key product information: category, brand, style, colour, and size. For example, 'WD-NK-RUN-BLK-10' might mean Women's Department, Nike, Running Shoe, Black, Size 10. Consistent SKU conventions make inventory counts, reordering, and product analysis significantly easier.
You sell t-shirts in 3 colours and 4 sizes. Instead of 12 unnamed variants, you create SKUs: TS-WHT-S, TS-WHT-M, TS-WHT-L, TS-WHT-XL, TS-BLK-S, etc. When checking inventory or analysing sales, you can instantly identify which variant you're looking at.
Without a clear SKU system, inventory management becomes chaotic as you scale. SKUs let you track which specific variants sell best, which are overstocked, and which need reordering. They're essential for accurate inventory counts, purchase orders, and warehouse operations.
Using supplier SKUs instead of creating your own consistent system
Making SKUs too long or complex to be practical for warehouse staff
Not including variant attributes like colour and size in the SKU format
StoreLyst tracks COGS, sales, and profitability at the variant level using SKUs. You can quickly see which SKUs are your best and worst performers.
Learn more about Store Manager →A SKU is your internal product identifier that you create and define. A barcode (UPC/EAN) is a universal identifier assigned by GS1 that's the same regardless of who sells the product. You might sell the same barcoded product under different SKUs across stores.
Use a consistent pattern like Category-Brand-Style-Colour-Size, separated by hyphens. Keep them short (8-15 characters), use uppercase letters, avoid special characters, and don't start with zero. Make them meaningful enough that staff can decode them.
Even with a small catalogue, SKUs help you stay organised. They become essential once you have more than 50 variants, use any form of inventory tracking, or work with suppliers and warehouses.
Stop calculating in spreadsheets. Get real-time sku tracking for your Shopify store.