CRT Data Analytics & Visualization 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A tobacconist notices that humidor cigar sales spike every Friday afternoon. Which type of chart best communicates this weekly pattern to store management?
- Scatter plot
- Line chart with time on the x-axis (Correct answer)
- Pie chart
- Histogram
Correct answer: Line chart with time on the x-axis
A line chart with time on the x-axis clearly shows trends and recurring patterns such as weekly sales spikes.
Question 2: Which KPI is most useful for evaluating whether a tobacco retail store's pricing strategy is effective?
- Total customer foot traffic
- Gross margin percentage by product category (Correct answer)
- Number of new vendors contacted
- Employee headcount
Correct answer: Gross margin percentage by product category
Gross margin percentage by product category directly measures how effectively pricing covers costs and generates profit.
Question 3: When analyzing cigar sales data, what does a high standard deviation in daily revenue indicate?
- Sales are consistently strong
- Revenue varies widely from day to day (Correct answer)
- Inventory is well-managed
- Customer loyalty is high
Correct answer: Revenue varies widely from day to day
A high standard deviation means daily revenue fluctuates significantly, signaling inconsistent sales performance.
Question 4: A retailer wants to identify which premium cigar brands contribute to 80% of total revenue. Which analytical technique applies?
- Cohort analysis
- Pareto analysis (80/20 rule) (Correct answer)
- Regression analysis
- Churn analysis
Correct answer: Pareto analysis (80/20 rule)
Pareto analysis identifies the vital few products responsible for the majority of revenue, following the 80/20 principle.
Question 5: Which dashboard element would best alert a tobacconist manager when humidor humidity falls outside the safe range?
- A bar chart comparing monthly sales
- A conditional-formatted gauge or alert indicator (Correct answer)
- A pie chart of product mix
- A scatter plot of price vs. sales volume
Correct answer: A conditional-formatted gauge or alert indicator
Conditional-formatted gauges or alert indicators visually flag when a metric breaches a threshold, enabling immediate action.
Question 6: In retail tobacco analytics, what does 'sell-through rate' measure?
- The number of cigars sold per employee per shift
- The percentage of received inventory sold within a given period (Correct answer)
- The ratio of premium to value-priced cigars sold
- The average transaction value per customer
Correct answer: The percentage of received inventory sold within a given period
Sell-through rate measures the percentage of inventory received that is sold within a specific timeframe, indicating inventory efficiency.
Question 7: A tobacconist's POS report shows average transaction value dropped 12% over the past quarter. Which follow-up analysis is most appropriate?
- Review employee schedules for coverage gaps
- Segment transactions by product category to find where value declined (Correct answer)
- Audit humidor temperature logs
- Compare vendor invoices to purchase orders
Correct answer: Segment transactions by product category to find where value declined
Segmenting by product category pinpoints which product lines drove the decline in average transaction value.
CRT Data Analytics & Visualization 2
A tobacconist notices that humidor cigar sales spike every Friday afternoon.
Which type of chart best communicates this weekly pattern to store management?