Can't parse date with format in Snowflake

Question

I have values like '05272021' that I need change to date

I tried to use

to_date(refund_date::varchar,'MM/dd/yyyy') as refund_date

But get:

"Can't parse '05112021' as date with format 'MM/dd/yyyy'"

user_5070879 · Answer

Provided format should match source data 05272021:

SELECT try_to_date(refund_date::varchar,'MMddyyyy') as refund_date
...

user_20051082 · Answer

CREATE OR REPLACE TABLE TABLE_TEST( COL1 VARCHAR);

SELECT * FROM TABLE_TEST;

output: COL1 20210408

We can use below query if we want to convert string to date format.

SELECT to_date(col1::varchar,'YYYYMMDD') AS EXPECTED FROM TABLE_TEST;

Expected output: 2021-04-08