5 Best Scenarios to Use Ribbon Charts in Power BI Reports

1. Ranking Over Time

• Example: Track how product categories or regions rank over different time periods.
• Why Use It? Ribbon charts are excellent for showing changes in rank over time while maintaining a clear connection between categories. This makes it easy to identify trends and movements across different periods.

2. Market Trends

• Example: Analyze the performance of different brands or companies in a competitive market.
• Why Use It? Ribbon charts highlight not only the top performers but also how their positions change over time, giving a dynamic view of market dynamics.

3. Sales Performance

• Example: Compare monthly or yearly sales figures across different products or regions.
• Why Use It? They visually emphasize shifts in sales performance rankings, making it simple to spot emerging trends or declining performers.

4. Customer Segmentation

• Example: Rank customer groups by their spending or engagement levels across various quarters.
• Why Use It? Ribbon charts offer a layered visualization, making it easier to see the flow of customer groups between different ranks over time.

5. Website or App Analytics

• Example: Monitor traffic sources or user acquisition channels over time (e.g., organic, paid, referral).
• Why Use It? Ribbon charts show how traffic sources or channels rise or fall in rank, giving actionable insights for marketing and resource allocation.

Bonus Tip:

• When to Avoid Ribbon Charts:
  Ribbon charts are best used for datasets with a moderate number of categories. Too many categories can make the chart cluttered and harder to interpret. For simpler comparisons, bar charts or line charts may work better.