Bump Charts: When Rank Matters More Than Value

In many dashboards, the focus is on absolute numbers. But in competitive contexts, rank often matters more:

• Who is leading?

• Who is catching up?

• Who has slipped?

A bump chart highlights ranking changes over time. Clean lines and consistent colors make it easy to see shifts at a glance. This is especially useful for:

• Product sales rankings quarter over quarter

• Team performance in campaigns or competitions

• Employee or customer satisfaction scoring

• Competitive shifts in market share or revenue position

Use Case: Quarterly Product Sales Rankings
We compared six product segments across five quarters. The bump chart revealed:

• Laptops started strong but lost leadership

• Smartphones rose to the top in Q1 2025

• Projectors and Accessories remained at the bottom

• Chairs stayed in the middle without major change

By contrast, a stacked column chart shows values, but not movement:

• Rank shifts are hard to detect

• It is unclear who overtook whom

• The narrative is limited

Why Bump Charts Work

• Clear visibility of rank shifts

• Color consistency for easy tracking

• Turning points—who climbed, who fell, and when—are immediately visible

• Best suited for competitive, leaderboard-style insights