diff --git a/packages/grafana-data/src/field/fieldComparers.ts b/packages/grafana-data/src/field/fieldComparers.ts
index bdcf8eb32a5..94bb4312b14 100644
--- a/packages/grafana-data/src/field/fieldComparers.ts
+++ b/packages/grafana-data/src/field/fieldComparers.ts
@@ -51,11 +51,16 @@ const numericComparer = (a: number, b: number): number => {
   return a - b;
 };
 
+// Using the Intl.Collator object compare method results in much faster
+// string sorting than .localeCompare
+const compare = new Intl.Collator('en', { sensitivity: 'base' }).compare;
+
 const stringComparer = (a: string, b: string): number => {
   if (!a || !b) {
     return falsyComparer(a, b);
   }
-  return a.localeCompare(b);
+
+  return compare(String(a), String(b));
 };
 
 const booleanComparer = (a: boolean, b: boolean): number => {
diff --git a/packages/grafana-data/src/transformations/transformers/groupingToMatrix.test.ts b/packages/grafana-data/src/transformations/transformers/groupingToMatrix.test.ts
index debc814c89e..cba642d8340 100644
--- a/packages/grafana-data/src/transformations/transformers/groupingToMatrix.test.ts
+++ b/packages/grafana-data/src/transformations/transformers/groupingToMatrix.test.ts
@@ -31,7 +31,7 @@ describe('Grouping to Matrix', () => {
       const expected: Field[] = [
         {
           name: 'Time\\Time',
-          type: FieldType.string,
+          type: FieldType.time,
           values: [1000, 1001, 1002],
           config: {},
         },
@@ -133,7 +133,7 @@ describe('Grouping to Matrix', () => {
       const expected: Field[] = [
         {
           name: 'Time\\Time',
-          type: FieldType.string,
+          type: FieldType.time,
           values: [1000, 1001],
           config: {},
         },
diff --git a/packages/grafana-data/src/transformations/transformers/groupingToMatrix.ts b/packages/grafana-data/src/transformations/transformers/groupingToMatrix.ts
index 94ce41f79e2..d3b04d281ca 100644
--- a/packages/grafana-data/src/transformations/transformers/groupingToMatrix.ts
+++ b/packages/grafana-data/src/transformations/transformers/groupingToMatrix.ts
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 import { map } from 'rxjs/operators';
 
 import { getFieldDisplayName } from '../../field/fieldState';
-import { DataFrame, Field, FieldType } from '../../types/dataFrame';
+import { DataFrame, Field } from '../../types/dataFrame';
 import {
   SpecialValue,
   DataTransformerInfo,
@@ -106,7 +106,7 @@ export const groupingToMatrixTransformer: DataTransformerInfo<GroupingToMatrixTr
           {
             name: rowColumnField,
             values: rowValues,
-            type: FieldType.string,
+            type: keyRowField.type,
             config: {},
           },
         ];
@@ -145,12 +145,7 @@ export const groupingToMatrixTransformer: DataTransformerInfo<GroupingToMatrixTr
 };
 
 function uniqueValues<T>(values: T[]): T[] {
-  const unique = new Set<T>();
-
-  for (let index = 0; index < values.length; index++) {
-    unique.add(values[index]);
-  }
-
+  const unique = new Set<T>(values);
   return Array.from(unique);
 }