Why is a treemap often preferred over a pie chart for showing contributions to total sales?

A treemap is often preferred over a pie chart for showing contributions to total sales primarily because contributions are easier to see and understand in a treemap format. Treemaps visualize hierarchical data using nested rectangles, where the size of each rectangle corresponds to the magnitude of the contribution. This visual representation enables viewers to quickly compare the size of different categories relative to each other, making it simpler to grasp the proportions of sales contributions.

In contrast, pie charts can become confusing, especially when there are many categories or when the differences in contributions are slight. As the number of slices increases, it becomes more challenging to accurately interpret the sizes of each portion, leading to misinterpretation of the data.

Treemaps also naturally accommodate larger datasets and allow for more categories to be represented without a loss in clarity. This aspect highlights their effectiveness over pie charts, particularly when dealing with detailed datasets involving multiple contributors to sales.