Overview
Product SKUs are a huge part of managing inventory for your ecommerce platform. This article will go over what a SKU is, and how you can interact with SKUs specifically in Shopify.
What's a SKU?
SKU stands for "Stock Keeping Unit". Every product has its own unique SKU that isn't shared by any other product in your system. These SKUs are likely generated by your POS system based on a variety of factors (how SKUs are generated varies from POS system to POS system, and can often be tweaked in order to best support your business). While SKUs can, in theory, be a random jumble of letters and numbers, they often reflect things about the product like size or color.
What are the Rules for SKUs?
The main thing to keep in mind for product SKUs is that they have to be unique. While Shopify will technically allow you to use duplicate SKUs, actually doing so will result in the relevant product not having its price or inventory updated. Essentially, you cannot use the same SKU twice for separate products, even if the product themselves are similar.
Where Can I See my SKUs?
Product SKUs are visible in a few places. If you look at the list of your products in the Modern Retail Admin Panel, you can see the SKU in the Integration ID column, pictured below:
You can learn more about the Admin Panel product list here.
Additionally, you can see Product SKUs in Shopify or your POS system under the Product list in either interface.
If you have additional questions about product SKUs, please don't hesitate to submit a support request.