Answer: VARIANT

The VARIANT data type is specifically designed in Snowflake for storing and efficiently querying semi-structured data formats like JSON, Avro, Parquet, and XML. It allows Snowflake to handle complex nested data structures and perform schema-on-read operations, making it the optimal choice for semi-structured data. The community discussion shows 100% consensus on option D, with multiple comments emphasizing that VARIANT is the correct data type for this purpose. Other options are less suitable: VARCHAR would store JSON as plain text without the ability to query nested structures efficiently, RAW is for binary data, and LOB (Large Object) types are for unstructured data like images or documents.

Author: LeetQuiz Editorial Team