As a sales analyst in a retail company, I was working on analyzing daily profit trends across the entire year. In this, I had to visualize the data, in which we can see the yearly sales trends for each day in all months.
For this data visualization, I created a heat map in Tableau to analyze daily profit trends across the entire year. In this, each cell represents the profit made on a specific day of the month, with months displayed across columns and days listed down the rows.
To show the profits, we will use color intensity to highlight profit patterns, for example, blue for gains and red for losses.
In this Tableau tutorial, I will explain what a heat map is in Tableau and how we can use it for data visualization.
What is a Heat Map in Tableau?
In Tableau, a heat map is a data visualization in which we use color intensity to represent the magnitude of values within a dataset, allowing for easy identification of patterns and trends. The heat map displays a matrix where data points are represented by colored cells, with the color intensity corresponding to the value of the data point.
Check out: Create a Scatterplot in Tableau
Create a Heat Map in Tableau
In the example below, we will create a heat map to show the annual profit trends for each day in all months.
Connect the database connection with the Tableau superstore data and follow the steps below.
- Drag the Order date to the Column shelf, and by default, it will be in year format. To change the format, click on the Order date and select a month.
- To show the days of months, add Order date to the Rows shelf and format the year to day.
- In this heat map, we will show the profit and loss through the color intensity, and for that, we will add the Profit to the Color card in the Marks section.
This will show the month days with profits in blue and with less profits or losses in orange.
Check out: Tableau Bubble Chart
- To show the sales figures for the month, add the Sales to the Label card in the Marks section.
- As we add the Profit to the Labels, it will fade the color intensity that determines the profit and loss.
To make the color visible along with the sales profits, set the Marks type to Square and this will display a heap map showing the profit and losses for each day of months.
This way, we can create a heat map in Tableau by following the above steps.
Check out: Sankey Chart in Tableau
Create a Tableau Heat Map using Built-in Map
In the previous example, we created a heat map by defining the rows and columns and adding fields to the color card. Another way to create the heat map in Tableau is by using the built-in heat map option from the ‘Show Me’ tab.
In this example, we will create a heat map that will display the sales of product sub-categories in different regions. This heat map displays sales data using square blocks, with larger blocks indicating higher sales.
- To use the built-in heat map, we need to select the fields first. For this heat map’s data visualization, select the fields sub-category, region as dimensions, and sales as measure.
After selecting the measure and dimensions, click on the “Heat Map” in the “Show Me” tab.
- As we select the heat map option, it will show the data values in squares for the product subcategory. Here, a bigger square indicates more sales and a smaller square shows the least sales.
To sort the product sales for the regions in decreasing order, click on the sort button in the nav bar. After this, set the view to the Entire view.
- We can also change the color of the heat map chart. To change the color, add Sales to the color card. After this, click on the color card and Edit Color.
In the color palette, select the color that you want to replace with the existing one.
With this, the products with higher sales will be at the top, and the products with the least sales will be at the bottom.
Check out: Sunburst Chart in Tableau
This way, we can create a heat map in Tableau using the built-in heat map chart.
I hope you now understand how to create and use heat maps in Tableau from the above examples, where we visualized daily profit trends or compared sales across regions. Using heat maps, it is easy to spot patterns using color intensity.
In the above examples, we learned about both the manual method and the built-in heat map option. We can use any of them depending on our data and analysis requirements.
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I am Bijay Kumar, the founder of SalesforceFAQs.com. Having over 10 years of experience working in salesforce technologies for clients across the world (Canada, Australia, United States, United Kingdom, New Zealand, etc.). I am a certified salesforce administrator and expert with experience in developing salesforce applications and projects. My goal is to make it easy for people to learn and use salesforce technologies by providing simple and easy-to-understand solutions. Check out the complete profile on About us.
