SKU anti-patterns
Common SKU mistakes that cost real money:
Common Scenarios:
- Generic numeric SKUs like "12345" that repeat across suppliers and cause merge conflicts.
- Meaningless random strings that warehouse staff cannot read at a glance.
- Characters such as / : spaces or accented letters that break Excel exports and feed parsers.
- No variant distinction - the same SKU for Size M and Size L, so orders ship the wrong item.
Generate thousands of consistent SKUs
ShopTools' SKU generator composes prefix + product code + variant suffix across your whole file, detects duplicates, and exports a clean, warehouse-ready SKU column.
Features:
- Prefix & suffix control: Define your own format and starting sequence.
- Variant-aware codes: Derives the suffix from size/color options automatically.
- Duplicate detection: Flags and resolves repeated SKUs across handles.
Design your convention
- Pick a 2-4 letter store prefix (e.g. ST for your brand).
- Add a stable product identifier derived from the handle or title.
- Append a short variant suffix built from Option1/Option2 values.
- Enforce uniqueness - add a counter suffix when collisions occur.
Before and after
- Before: SKU: 12093 (repeats across products) After: ST-WOOLCOAT-BLK-M
- Before: SKU: (empty) After: ST-DENIMJEAN-BLU-32
Who benefits
- Fulfillment teams: Pick-by-SKU becomes fast and error-free.
- Google Merchant feeds: Consistent identifiers keep listings live in Shopping ads.
- High-variant stores: Tens of thousands of variants get uniform codes in seconds.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
- How long should a SKU be?
- Between 8 and 24 characters. Long enough to be informative, short enough for labels and barcode readers.
- Can SKUs contain special characters?
- Avoid spaces, slashes and non-ASCII letters - they break Excel exports, inventory APIs and some barcode systems. Stick to A-Z, 0-9 and hyphens.
- Does SKU affect Shopify SEO?
- SKUs are not visible to shoppers by default, but consistent SKUs keep variant data clean in feeds, which supports Merchant Center and inventory health.
- What if two products generate the same SKU?
- Add a numeric suffix (-1, -2) to keep every SKU unique - Shopify treats duplicate SKUs as a warning and can merge variants.
- Should I reuse the old barcode?
- If your warehouse uses it, keep it as a reference - but a readable SKU should carry meaning, not just a number.