If you’ve been using Zoho Analytics, you already know we’ve got over 50 data visualization types to help you decode the story your data is trying to tell. And guess what?
With our next major upgrade, Analytics 6.0, we’re adding seven more exciting data visualization types to enhance your analytics journey.
Let's first look at the list of new visualizations, and then we'll explore the different options for choosing the right data visualization type:
- Racing chart
- Sankey chart
- Sparklines in pivot views
- Geo map layering
- Sunburst chart
- Conversion bar chart
- Treemap
Note: These new visualizations are currently available in the Zoho Analytics 6.0 Beta.
Racing chart
Racing charts, also known as racing bar charts or bar chart races, are dynamic visualizations that show how different categories change their rankings over time. These charts illustrate how the relative positions of different items change across multiple time periods.
Racing charts are:
- Engaging and easy-to-understand
- Effective at communicating changes in relative positions
- Capable of displaying a large amount of information in a compact, animated format
Here are some scenarios where racing charts fit best:
- Comparing company market share over the years
- Tracking the population growth of cities, states, or countries
- Illustrating changes in sports team rankings throughout a season
As an example, here's a racing bar chart on our IPL 2024 dashboard, with an overview of the match wins for each team over the last 17 years of the IPL tournament.
Sankey chart
Sankey charts, also known as sankey diagrams, are flow diagrams that show the distribution of data between different stages. These charts visualize how quantities flow from one category or stage to another, with the width of the flows proportional to the quantity.
Sankey charts:
- Clearly show relationships between categories
- Effectively represent proportions and quantities
- Help identify major and minor contributors in a system
Here are some situations where you can use sankey charts:
- Website traffic flow
- Budget allocation and spending
- Customer journey mapping
Check out the sample sankey chart below:
Sparklines in pivot views
Sparklines in pivot views are compact, inline graphics that provide a quick visual summary of trends within tabular data. They offer a small, simple visualization of data trends directly within table cells and allow users to grasp patterns quickly, without the need for separate charts.
Some benefits of sparklines:
- Save space while providing valuable visual information
- Allow for quick pattern recognition across multiple data points
- Enhance the readability of data-heavy pivot tables
Here are some use cases where sparklines fit best:
- Sales reports displaying trends across different products or regions
- Performance metrics for teams or individuals over time
- Website analytics
Zoho Analytics supports three sparkline variations in pivot tables: line, area, and bar charts. Here's a sample pivot table with sparklines:
Sunburst chart
Sunburst charts, also known as multilevel pie charts or ring charts, are hierarchical visualizations that show the relationship between different levels of categorical data. These charts display hierarchical data in a series of concentric rings, where each ring represents a level in the hierarchy and segments within each ring represent categories at that level.
Sunburst charts:
- Provide a clear view of both the overall structure and individual components
- Allow for easy comparison of segments at the same level
Use cases for sunburst charts:
- Displaying organizational hierarchies
- Showing revenue by product categories and subcategories
- Budget allocations across departments and sub-departments
Here's a sample interactive sunburst chart for your reference:
Treemap
Treemaps show hierarchical data using nested rectangles, where the size of each rectangle represents a quantitative value, and the nesting represents hierarchical relationships.
Benefits of treemaps:
- Allow for easy identification of the largest and smallest categories
- Provide a clear overview of the data's structure and composition
Use cases for treemaps:
- Displaying market capitalization of stocks by sector and industry
- Representing product sales by category and subcategory
Here's an interactive treemap that lets you quickly analyze and compare the wicket-taking abilities of the different teams and their bowlers in IPL 2024.
Geo-map layering
Geo-map layering allows users to overlay various types of geographic data on a base map and enables complex spatial analysis and visualization of multiple data sets simultaneously.
Benefits of geo map layering:
- Perform complex spatial analysis
- Understand relationships between different geographic elements
Where can we use geo map layering?
- Business intelligence (market analysis, site selection, and logistics)
- Public health (disease spread and healthcare accessibility)
- Transportation (traffic patterns and route optimization)
Here's a sample geo map chart that has three layers analyzing store sales:
With this report, you don't have to create three different charts and switch between them to derive insights.
As you can see from the chart above, you can easily identify the states with lower sales ($10,000 and below) highlighted in blue: North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wyoming. You can then analyze the sales performance by product category. To understand the reason for lower sales, you can utilize the third layer, which shows the store count—for North Dakota and South Dakota, you'll notice only two stores are available in each state.
Conversion bar chart
Conversion bar charts, or funnel bar charts, show how a starting value changes through a series of sequential steps, typically illustrating gains or losses at each stage.
Benefits of conversion bar charts:
- Clearly show the impact of each step on the overall process
- Help identify bottlenecks or areas for improvement
Use cases for conversion bar charts:
- Sales funnel analysis (e.g., leads to prospects to customers)
- Website user flow (e.g., visitors to sign-ups to purchases)
- Financial statement analysis (e.g., revenue to net income)
Here's a sample conversion bar chart that shows the conversion for each stage:
With these data visualization types, you can better understand your data—its trends and patterns—efficiently.
Now that we've explored the new visualization types, let's learn how to choose the right visualization type for your needs.
How to choose the right data visualization chart
When selecting a visualization type, you'll need to consider the kind of data you're analyzing, your business function, your audience, and the complexity of your data.
While getting started, you can make use of our chart picker guide, which will help you select a visualization type for your specific case.
Too much to remember? No worries, Zoho Analytics has got your back.
Using data visualization software like Zoho Analytics simplifies the process. Just drag and drop the columns you're analyzing, and Zoho Analytics will create your report with a suitable visualization type. Of course, you can always change the visualization type later if you prefer.
Another option is to use AI data visualization tools. These tools can guide you in choosing the right visualization.
For example, the Zoho Analytics 6.0 update includes a powerful feature called Zia Suggestions. Zia, Zoho Analytics' intelligent AI assistant, helps you with various analytics tasks. One of Zia's most useful functions is recommending different visualizations based on the columns you've selected.
Check out this GIF to see how Zia's visualization suggestions can make your life easier:
Want to try it out?
This feature is available in the Zoho Analytics 6.0 Beta, and you can access this feature right now if you're already a Zoho Analytics customer. Otherwise, you can sign up for any paid plan with Zoho Analytics to simplify your data visualization process.
But wait—there's a simpler and even better way to create visualizations!
You can now ask AI to create visualizations for you. Zoho Analytics offers a feature called Ask Zia, where you can ask questions in natural language and get answers in the form of reports.
Here's a snapshot of what Ask Zia can do for you:
We hope these new visualizations and AI assistant updates will enhance your analytics journey and simplify your decision-making process.
If you want to try these new visualizations or Zia Suggestions right now, sign up with Zoho Analytics, choose a plan, and start exploring these features yourself.
The Zoho Analytics 6.0 Beta update also includes other major, exciting features. You can check out the full list here—and if you'd like a personalized demo of Zoho Analytics or any specific feature, you can register here.
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