The OR function is a logical function which evaluates a set of Boolean equations and as long as one of those equations is true, it will return a value of TRUE.

This is the format of the OR function:

=OR(BOOLEAN 1, BOOLEAN 2, BOOLEAN 3, etc…)

Here is an example of the OR function:

=OR( 1+1=3, 2+2=5, 3+3=6) = TRUE

This function is valuable when an outcome has multiple factors which may or may not be exclusive to one another, but which would result in the same outcome. This flexibility allows for more comprehensive logic to be implemented without the use of multiple additional columns.

An example of a functional implementation of this would be segmenting clients into categories based on their sales history. Clients whose purchases are primarily fashion goods, or who shops at least once a month could be considered a ‘trendsetter’, and while not mutually exclusive that label can be applied if either of those criteria are met.

=OR(SUMIF FASHION PURCHASE> 0.8 * SUM OF PURCHASES, NUMBER OF MONTHS WITH PURCHASES = 12)