Get Size Category from SKU
As a fashion retailer, I need to quickly extract the first letter of the SKU to identify the size category (e.g., 'S' for Small, 'M' for Medium) for inventory management and sales analysis. This helps in filtering stock and understanding sales trends by size.
=LEFT(A2,1) How it works: The LEFT function extracts a specified number of characters from the beginning (left side) of a text string. In this scenario, by specifying '1' as the number of characters to extract from cell A2, we efficiently pull out the very first character of each SKU. This character, in our SKU format, directly represents the size category (e.g., 'S' for Small, 'M' for Medium, 'L' for Large, 'X' for Extra Large).
Data Setup
| Product SKU |
|---|
| S-DRESS-BLU-001 |
| M-SHIRT-RED-002 |
| L-PANTS-BLK-003 |
| XL-JACKET-GRN-004 |
| S-SKIRT-PNK-005 |
Step-by-Step Guide
Select the cell where you want the extracted size category to appear (e.g., B2, assuming your first SKU is in A2).
Type the formula `=LEFT(A2,1)` into the selected cell.
Press Enter to see the result.
Drag the fill handle (the small green square at the bottom-right corner of cell B2) down to apply the formula to all other SKUs in your list.