New Visual Analytics App Compares Cost Of Living Across Asia Pacific
Qlik, a leader in visual analytics, has developed a new web-based app for consumers that allows them to quickly and easily compare the cost of living across eight key cities in Asia Pacific (APAC) – Mumbai, Hong Kong, Kuala Lumpur, Seoul, Shanghai, Singapore, Sydney and Tokyo.
Built on Qlik Sense®, the Qlik APAC Cost of Living app uses embedded visual analytics to enable users to uncover insights into the cost of living across different cities in the region. The app incorporates a broad cross-section of goods such as property, transport, education, entertainment, utilities, food, restaurants and clothing, in addition to allowing users to select ‘Budget’, ‘Mid-range’ or ‘Expensive’ across any cost category.
“With the constant fluctuations in Asian economies and changing consumer price indices (CPI), getting to grips with the cost of maintaining a certain standard of living before you move somewhere can be difficult,” said Phillip Beniac, Regional Vice President, Asia Pacific for Qlik.
The Qlik APAC Cost of Living app takes the pain out of the process by using visual analytics to compare the average cost of living in various cities. Easy to assimilate visual representations enable expatriates, as well as local residents, to compare selected APAC cities side by side, and drill into the data to find out how their city of choice stacks up against the rest.
Mumbai least expensive; Tokyo most expensive with Hong Kong and Sydney close behind
Mumbai is the most populous city in India, with an estimated 18.4 million residents. It is also the wealthiest city in India, with the highest number of millionaires and billionaires. However, the city is 53% less expensive below the APAC average. Yet, delving deeper into the data reveals that all is not how it may seem. For example, a Mercedes CLS is 20% more expensive in Mumbai compared to one in Tokyo. Similarly, a round of golf (9 holes) is more expensive in Mumbai when compared to Sydney.
“Part of this attractiveness of the region is the perceived low cost of living in various countries. However, cost of living standards can often be misunderstood unless people have access to a good level of detailed information that informs them what it will cost to live their particular lifestyle. For example, not everyone wants or needs to own a car, which can be a particularly expensive proposition in some APAC cities, especially Singapore and Tokyo, where the public transport network is already extensive.”
“In the same way that organizations now routinely use business intelligence, individuals are seeking ways to use everyday data to analyze and derive insights into what’s going on in their lives. The Qlik Cost of Living app is a great example of how you don’t have to be a data scientist to get useful insights from data, by using visual analytics,” added Beniac.
The Qlik APAC Cost of Living app built on Qlik Sense, is based on data collected from varied sources including desktop research as well as surveys of regional retail chains and hotels. The app is available at www.qlik.com/apaccostofliving
