Market Basket Categories Dashboard

Use this dashboard in conjunction with the Market Basket Associations and Market Basket Items dashboards.  You'll be able to work through your analysis with a variety of detail using these dashboards, understanding the volume of activity that includes each category or item, and the associated activity that your customers transact.

You will see a link to this document in the heading of the dashboard, click on Dashboard Help to access the document.

On the right side of the dashboard you will use the filters to select the category you want to analyze and the date range for the analysis.  You must choose a single category for the analysis.  You are able to select specific stores and also whether the sales are web based, store based or both.

KPIs

At the top of the dashboard are KPIs (Key Performance Indicators) that show for the selected date range, category & locations: total sales $ in the adjacent categories, total quantity in adjacent categories and the average item value of the adjacent categories.  This will help you understand your customer buying habits when they purchase the category you are analyzing.  You may want to look at this information over a long time period, or perhaps during a special marketing or incentive drive.  If your merchandising has changed, how did it affect the additional categories your customers are buying? Is the category you selected to analyze driving sales in other categories as you expect, are there opportunities to suggest additional merchandise to your customers?

Graphics

Below the KPIs are graphics that represent the same information, by category.  Of the additional sales $ and quantities, you will see the allocation to each of the adjacent categories. You may find that the highest additional category in sales $ is exactly as you expect - can that be enhanced with marketing or merchandising?  Are the more profitable categories performing as you need them to perform?  How can you encourage your customers to purchase more in these categories?  If the results surprise you, what is driving them - is it specific locations, perhaps a particular merchandising trial?

The mini data table below the item value KPI shows you the sales $, quantity and item value by category.  You are able to sort this table by using the up & down arrows at the top of each column.

On the pie charts, if your distribution contains "Other" as a grouping, this represents the smaller sections of category sales - click on the "Other" section to expand that section; to revert back to the initial graphic, click on the "Back" button that appeared when you clicked on "Other".

The next set of graphics illustrate the top adjacent categories in sales $, quantity and item value.  You will want to understand if the quantity or item value is driving the sales $ in each category - and the reasons each category falls in the place it holds. For example, is your top category related to the category you are analyzing in a way that they would be purchased together naturally - or is the positioning of the merchandise in your stores or website suggesting sales that causes this?  For the top category in average item value, how are you able to suggest these to your customers to gain even more revenue on their baskets?

Next you will see a correlated sales table for the other categories purchased, including the sales $, quantity and transactions per customer.  In each column you will see a highlighted value, where the correlation is the highest. You may see that when customers purchased category X, they spend the most $ in one adjacent category overall, yet on a per customer basis the highest average sales $ are in a different category.  These are both valuable metrics, and understanding what drives them can help you leverage even more.  Average Sales $ and Quantity per Customer will show you the appetite of your customer base - and filtering by location could lead you to valuable insights about merchandise allocations in different geographic areas, or calendar ranges.  Remember that these metrics are correlated to the category you selected to analyze - so they are included in the same transaction as the category you selected.

You might find that the highest correlations in these metrics are just as you expect them to be - using the up and down arrows on each column heading, sort the data to see the top (and bottom) categories for each metric to understand how your customers are filling their baskets - and as well, what they are not including.

The polar chart to the right of the table draws your attention to the correlation of sales $ in each category.  Here you can see at a glance whether there are few, or many, high selling adjacent categories.

At the bottom of the dashboard you will see a correlated table for sales $, for all of the categories purchased within the filtered values.  The category you selected to analyze is included with all of the others purchased.  You will see the highest correlated value for each category highlighted in the table. Again, you might find that the highest correlations are as you expect them to be, based on your business model or other driving factor.  You will want to understand the correlations across all of your categories to better position your buying, marketing and merchandising efforts.

This analysis might warrant additional information - use this in conjunction with the other dashboards available to help you make the best decisions for your business.

Any of the data tables can be exported to work with the data outside the dashboard. Do this by clicking on the 3 dots at the top right corner of the widget, choose Download and export an image or file.  The recommended file type for a spreadsheet is CSV.