The Measurement Blog is curated content from the Evolytics staff, bringing you the most interesting news in data and analysis from around the web. The Evolytics staff has proven experience and expertise in analytics strategy, tagging implementation, data engineering, and data visualization.

THE MATHEMATICS OF CHRISTMAS: A REVIEW OF THE INDISPUTABLE EXISTENCE OF SANTA CLAUS

THE CONVERSATION | ARTICLE

Whether it’s data engineering, predictive analytics, A/B testing or analysis work, answering hard questions with math is what we love to do here at Evolytics, so it’s no surprise that The Indisputable Existence of Santa Claus: The Mathematics of Christmas by Hannah Fry and Thomas Oléron Evans is at the top of the team’s Christmas list.

Do you want to know exactly how much garland you need to decorate your tree? How do you apply game theory to select who should be on your Christmas shopping list? If Americans ate Christmas dinner every day of the year, what would turkey farming look like?

Now that those questions have been asked, you really want to answer them, right? Just think of all the data visualization potential!

Christmas is also a time to share with loved ones. If you really love math (like we really love math), check out Hannah Fry’s TedTalk on the mathematics of love.

HOLIDAY LIGHTS SHINE BRIGHT IN NASA SATELLITE VIEWS

SPACE.COM | VIDEO

Who needs to drive down Candy Cane Lane when you can see holiday lights from around the world, courtesy of NASA data collection?

NASA developed an impressive algorithm to analyze this light data, controlling for things such as light from the moon.

What has NASA learned about holiday light usage in the United States from satellite visualizations? Suburbia loves holiday lights! Conversely, urban areas are turning off the lights during the holidays. NASA hypothesizes that city dwellers travel during the holidays.

See the holiday magic (and science) of lights for yourself here.

HOW ANALYTICS CAN SUPERCHARGE HOLIDAY RETAIL SALES

CIO | TABLEAU BRAND POST

Do you sometimes wish Santa’s elves could finish your holiday shopping? You’re not alone. Gift giving can be a stressful experience, especially when you haven’t collected enough data about the recipient to strategize the perfect gift. Plus, you can’t exactly A/B test which present your recipient prefers and return the loser.

The upside? Retailers are working really hard to make the shopping experience better through data. As this post points out, having real-time data built into predictive and prescriptive dashboards allows stakeholders to make quick decisions that will improve the shopping process. Engineering omni-channel views allows for insights into the customer journey and real-time personalization.

Want to learn more about innovative data visualization solutions to supercharge your (post) holiday sales? Contact Us.