This diagram is utilized to illustrate relationships between categories, both direct and reverse flows. Chord diagrams are often employed to display population migration between regions and in other forms of infographics. However, there are suitable business applications as well. For instance, it can depict the movement of personnel within company departments, customer flows between market players, or the import and export of goods between countries.
In Figure 25-1, the diagram illustrates product combinations acquired by our customers. It shows how many customers, initially buying bikes, subsequently purchased accessories or clothing. The segments of the circle (arcs) represent product categories that together make up 100% and are interconnected. The length of the arc indicates the total sales value of that category (in the units shown on the figure). The thickness of the connection (chords) represents a quantitative comparison of the relationships between objects, indicating how many customers from one category became customers of another. When we hover over an element, a breakdown is displayed: for example, hovering over the blue chord connecting Bikes and Accessories, we see that out of all those who initially bought bikes, 6,758 moved on to accessories, and out of those who bought accessories, 877 subsequently purchased bikes.
Figure 25-1. Cross-category product sales
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