Scatter plot in Tableau are a simple but powerful way to show the relationship between two numbers. In Tableau, scatter plots help illustrate how two variables are related by showing where each point is based on the values of X and Y. This makes it easier to identify trends, patterns, or outliers in the data. For example, you can see how sales across different product categories relate to profit.
Benefits of Using Scatter Plot in Tableau
Correlation and trend identification
Scatter plots are great for identifying whether two things are connected. For example, a positive trend between marketing spend and sales shows that more marketing leads to more sales.
Identifying outliers
Outliers can change your analysis. For example, a scatter plot might show customers who spend a lot but are very dissatisfied, which points to service problems.
Efficient data exploration
Tableau’s drag-and-drop feature makes it easy to explore large datasets with scatter plots. This helps to quickly discover hidden trends or relationships.
Layering information
You can layer data in a scatter plot by adding colors or sizes based on categories, making the plot more detailed and useful.
Interactive and dynamic analysis
Tableau’s scatter plots are interactive. You can apply filters, zoom in, or add tooltips for deeper information, making analysis faster and easier.
Advanced analysis
Tableau lets you add trend lines or clustering to scatter plots for advanced analysis, helping to quickly identify trends or groups of similar points.
Use Case of Scatter Plot in Tableau
Sales vs. Profit Analysis
In retail, scatter plots show how sales relate to profit across stores or products. If some products have high sales but low profits, retailers know they are not making as much money as they expected. They can then make decisions about pricing or inventory.
Customer Spending vs. Customer Lifetime Value
In subscription services, scatter plots show how much customers spend initially versus their long-term value. Businesses can use it to understand which customers bring more value over time and adjust their marketing or loyalty programs.
Cost vs. Efficiency in Manufacturing
In manufacturing, scatter plots help show the relationship between cost and efficiency. A downward trend means that higher costs reduce efficiency, helping companies find areas where they can cut costs and improve operations.
Steps to create Scatter Plot
Step 1: Open Tableau
Step 2: Click on Text file to connect with Tableau
Note: You can select other data connecting source type also such as Microsoft Excel, JSON file, Microsoft Access, Microsoft SQL Server and MySQL. There are lots of data sources that you can use in Tableau
Step 3: Browse csv file (or other file format as your need) and click on Open
Step 4: Click on Sheet 1 (Worksheet) to make visual
Step 5: Drag-n-drop Sales in Columns and Profit in Rows to generate circles on chart with x-axis and y-axis
Step 6: Now we will add details to generate scatters based on Product Category and Region
Step 7: Right click on the visual and select Drop Lines to selecting Show Drop Lines
Output: With drop lines, we can easily analyze profit upon sales
Note: To further enhance the visualization, we can use color based on region or product category and we can also use shapes instead of circles.
Conclusion
Scatter plots in Tableau are great for showing the relationship between two numerical values, whether you’re examining trends, finding correlations, or finding outliers. These charts are useful in a variety of industries such as retail, healthcare, and manufacturing. By creating scatter plots in Tableau, users can easily adjust them to suit their needs, helping to make data-driven decisions. The simple design of a scatter plot, combined with Tableau’s advanced features such as trend lines, clustering, and filtering, makes exploring data easy and efficient. That’s why scatter plots are one of the most useful tools for analyzing continuous variables in data analysis today.
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