How can I aggregate column values for duplicate customers in SQL Server?

Need to combine rows for each customer in SQL Server? For instance:

SELECT CustomerName, SUM(OrderAmount) AS TotalAmount, SUM(PaymentMethod) AS TotalPayment
FROM SalesData
GROUP BY CustomerName;

In SQL Server, besides the typical approach of using aggregate functions with GROUP BY, it is beneficial to consider scenarios where you need to handle non-numeric data. For numeric columns, aggregation through SUM, AVG, or COUNT is straightforward. However, when dealing with string data or distinct values, methods like subqueries or FOR XML PATH become useful to concatenate values. In my experience, thoroughly analyzing column data types helps in choosing the best aggregation device, ensuring data integrity and performance in your queries.

hey, i’ve been tryin xml methods to join text and numeric rows but it gets tricky sometimes. anyone experimented with cross apply in these cases? how do u manage miscounts in large datasets?

In my recent project, I encountered a need to aggregate duplicate customer entries while preserving detailed transaction information. I opted for a solution where I used GROUP BY alongside derived subqueries to separately handle numeric and non-numeric data. This approach allowed me to perform precise SUM operations on order amounts and use string functions where necessary. Additionally, I found that paying attention to indexing improved performance on larger datasets. The key is to ensure that your aggregation strategy is perfectly aligned with the data’s nature and business requirements.

hey, i sometimes use a cte to first aggregate sums and then join it back for details. this lets me combine non-numeric info without messing up the main query. works fine with my large datasets too.