Tuesday Tip #13: Use pandas resample() with time series data 📈


Hi Reader,

Last week, I released a 3-hour video, My top 50 scikit-learn tips.

I also finished Chapter 10 of my next ML course, which I'll tell you about once all 20 chapters are done 😅

Anyway, let’s get to today’s tip!


👉 Tip #13: Use resample() with time series data

For fun, I’ve been building an interactive dashboard using pandas, Plotly Express, and Shiny for Python. (Check out a screenshot here.)

The goal is to help me analyze sales of my online courses. And since I’m working with sales data, I’m reminded of how much I love the pandas resample function!

Let’s see an example of how to resample 😉

Pretend you have a DataFrame of sales data that looks like this:

You might ask: What are my total sales for each product?

In that case, you would use groupby:

You can read that code as: For each Product, this is the sum of the Sale column.

Another similar question you might ask is: What are my total sales for each day?

Instead of groupby, you would use resample, which I think of as “groupby for time series data”:

You can read that code as: For each day, this is the sum of the Sale column.

(Notice that it inserted 2023-03-31 with a value of 0, since there were no sales on that day.)

By changing the 'D' to an 'M', you can resample by month instead:

'D' and 'M' are known as the “offset alias”, and there are many other offset aliases you can use.

Finally, let’s say that the index is not a datetime column:

In that case, you need to use the 'on' parameter to specify the datetime column:

If you work with time series data, I bet you’ll find a use for resample!


If you enjoyed this week’s tip, please forward it to a friend! Takes only a few seconds, and it really helps me out! 🙌

See you next Tuesday!

- Kevin

P.S. What’s the worst volume control interface? (my favorite is #12)

Did someone awesome forward you this email? Sign up here to receive data science tips every week!

Learn Artificial Intelligence from Data School 🤖

Join 25,000+ intelligent readers and receive AI tips every Tuesday!

Read more from Learn Artificial Intelligence from Data School 🤖

Hi Reader, On Friday, I announced my forthcoming book, Master Machine Learning with scikit-learn. In response, my Dad asked me: How does the subject of this book relate to Artificial Intelligence? In other words: What's the difference between AI and Machine Learning? Ponder that question for a minute, then keep reading to find out how I answered my Dad... 👇 AI vs Machine Learning Here's what I told my Dad: You can think of AI as a field dedicated to creating intelligent systems, and Machine...

Hi Reader, Yesterday, I posted this announcement on LinkedIn and Bluesky and X: Kevin Markham @justmarkham Dream unlocked: I'm publishing my first book! 🎉🎉🎉 It's called "Master Machine Learning with scikit-learn: A Practical Guide to Building Better Models with Python" Download the first 3 chapters right now: 👉 https://dataschool.kit.com/mlbook 👈 Thanks for your support 🙏 1:47 PM • Sep 11, 2025 1 Retweets 5 Likes Read 1 replies This has been a dream of mine for many years, and I'm so excited...

Hi Reader, Hope you’ve had a nice summer! ☀️ As for me, I’ve been finishing my first ever book! I can’t wait to tell you about it and invite you to be part of the launch… stay tuned 👀 Today's email focuses on a single important topic: AI’s impact on your mental health 🧠 Read more below! 👇 Sponsored by: Morning Brew The 5-Minute Newsletter That Makes Business Make Sense Business news doesn't have to be dry. Morning Brew gives you the biggest stories in business, tech, and finance with quick...