Marimekko Charts in Power BI for Strategic Market Analysis  

Effective market analysis requires more than just data. It demands clarity in how that data is presented. When evaluating competitive positioning, segment performance, and market share, decision-makers need tools that reveal insights at a glance. Mekko Charts in Power BI offer a powerful way to visualize these dynamics in a single, comprehensive view—eliminating the need to piece together information from multiple charts and helping teams make faster, more strategic decisions.

Understanding the Standard Mekko Chart 

The Standard Mekko chart is a two-dimensional chart designed to visualize the relationship between two categorical variables and two numerical variables. It achieves this by using the width of columns to represent the proportion of one categorical variable to the total, while the height of the columns is divided into segments representing the proportion of the second categorical variable within each of the first. The area of each segment, therefore, visually communicates the joint distribution of the two categorical variables. This makes it particularly useful for understanding market segmentation, where you might see the size of different market segments (width) and the distribution of product categories within those segments (height). 

The Inforiver Analytics+ Marimekko chart builds upon these fundamental principles, offering a powerful and versatile alternative for visualizing complex relationships. 

What is an Inforiver Analytics+ Marimekko Chart? 

For Power BI, Marimekko charts are a flexible two-dimensional chart that utilizes variable column width and height to represent measures across categories. This dynamic scaling of both dimensions is a key feature, enabling the visualization of relationships between multiple variables in a single visual. Unlike a standard bar chart, it uses both width and height to encode values, allowing for the display of more complex data relationships. Depending on the configuration, it can show interactions between several variables or present data with a single category and measure. 

Consider sales data where you might typically encounter separate charts illustrating sales by product, units sold by product, and product sales within each quarter. While these individual charts offer specific insights, they don't readily reveal the interconnectedness between total sales and units sold for each product, or how a single product's sales fluctuate across different quarters and contribute to overall revenue. An Inforiver Analytics+ Marimekko chart can simultaneously depict all this information. 

How Inforiver Analytics+ Marimekko Charts Enable Strategic Market Analysis 

Inforiver Analytics+ Marimekko charts are exceptionally well-suited for market analysis because of their ability to visualize data across categories using both column width and height to represent different measures. This allows for a more integrated view of market size and performance within segments. 

This unique structure of Inforiver Analytics+ Marimekko charts allows you to discern the relationships between different market dimensions within a single, compact view. For example, you can visualize products (as categories) with their corresponding market share (as width) and sales performance broken down by region (as stacked height). This newly synthesized information empowers decision-makers to identify patterns that are considerably more challenging to extract from disparate charts. It provides a "bird's-eye overview" of broad trends, effectively highlighting major contributors or segments that stand out. 

Versatile Inforiver Analytics+ Marimekko Chart Options 

Inforiver Analytics+ provides a range of flexible Marimekko chart options to cater to various analytical perspectives. These options allow you to visualize relationships between categorical and numerical data with precision. The core Marimekko chart uses variable column widths and heights to represent different measures across categories. 

Here are the available orientations and stacking configurations: 

• Vertical Marimekko: This presents the standard Marimekko chart with vertical columns. Column width and height represent different numerical variables for each category. 

• Vertical % Marimekko: This is a 100% Marimekko chart displayed vertically. The column heights are scaled to 100%, showing the proportional contribution of segments within each category to the total. 

• Vertical Stacked Marimekko: This displays vertical columns where the height of each column is further segmented to represent additional categorical breakdowns or sub-measures, while the column width represents another numerical variable. 

• Vertical Stacked % Marimekko: This is a 100% stacked Marimekko chart displayed vertically. The height of each column is scaled to 100%, showing the proportional contribution of the stacked segments within each category to the total, while the column width represents another numerical variable. 

• Horizontal Marimekko: This presents the standard Marimekko chart with horizontal bars. Bar width and height represent different numerical variables for each category. 

• Horizontal % Marimekko: This is a 100% Marimekko chart displayed horizontally. The bar widths are scaled to 100%, showing the proportional contribution of segments within each category to the total. 

• Horizontal Stacked Marimekko: This displays horizontal bars where the width of each bar is further segmented to represent additional categorical breakdowns or sub-measures, while the bar height represents another numerical variable. 

• Horizontal Stacked % Marimekko: This is a 100% stacked Marimekko chart displayed horizontally. The bar widths are scaled to 100%, showing the proportional contribution of the stacked segments within each category to the total, while the bar height represents another numerical variable. 

Enhancing Market Analysis with Inforiver's Marimekko Chart in Power BI 

For Power BI users, Inforiver Analytics+ offers an advanced Inforiver Analytics+ Marimekko chart visual equipped with key features that further elevate strategic market analysis. These functionalities enable deeper insights and greater customization: 

• Ranking (Top N): Focus your Inforiver Analytics+ Marimekko chart on leading players or market segments by applying top or bottom N ranking, with the option to group the remainder into an "Others" category. This facilitates rapid identification of market leaders and streamlines analysis. 

• Conditional Formatting: Apply rules or color scales within your Inforiver Analytics+ Marimekko charts to highlight critical market segments, top-performing products, or areas needing attention based on custom conditions derived from your market data. 

• Data Labels: Control the display of values and percentages within your Inforiver Analytics+ Marimekko charts based on height, width, or both, at the measure level or total level. This adds precision to the visual overview, enabling quick interpretation of market sizes, sales volumes, or proportional contributions within segments. You can even customize label positions and orientation. 

• Analytics (Reference Lines/Bands): Incorporate reference lines or bands on the axes of your Inforiver Analytics+ Marimekko charts to highlight thresholds or averages relevant to market performance, such as average sales per segment or a target market share. 

• Sorting: Apply sorting within your Inforiver Analytics+ Marimekko charts based on category, height, or width. Sorting by width (e.g., market size) or height (e.g., total sales) can immediately reveal the ranking of products or segments, accelerating the detection of outliers or leaders. 

• Small Multiples (Trellis Charts): Divide your Inforiver Analytics+ Marimekko chart into multiple smaller charts based on a parameter such as region or year. This allows for straightforward comparison of market dynamics and segment performance across different dimensions simultaneously. 

• Chart Orientation: Switch between vertical and horizontal orientations of your Inforiver Analytics+ Marimekko charts to determine the optimal layout for viewing your specific market data and label placement. 

While Inforiver Analytics+ Marimekko charts excel at providing a broad overview rather than precise estimations due to the inherent limitations of visual perception with areas and baselines, their strength lies in presenting the comprehensive picture and emphasizing major contributors and segments. 

By consolidating planning, reporting, and analytics on a unified platform like Power BI with tools such as Inforiver Analytics+, enterprise decision-makers can harness the visual power of Marimekko charts to gain a holistic, insightful, and visually engaging understanding of the market landscape, ultimately informing strategic decisions regarding market entry, resource allocation, and competitive positioning. 

Mekko Charts in Power BI provide a clear, consolidated view of market landscapes, enabling more informed and confident decision-making. Whether you're comparing market share, analyzing segment performance, or uncovering competitive insights, these charts help you do it all in a single visual.  

To dive deeper, learn more about Inforiver Analytics+ Combo/Multi Axes Chart, start a free trial of Inforiver Analytics+, or explore additional articles on Combo/Multi Axes Charts.