Google has promoted a daily deals offer on its US home page for the first time, as the Internet giant gets serious about shopping.
The Google Offers advert on its US home page (shown above) marks a rare instance of the internet giant using its prized online real estate for advertising and a warning shot to current market leader Groupon.
The pair are vying for advertising dollars from local businesses, such as restaurants and retail stores.
The deal offered $25 tickets to the museum at the deep discount of $5. This deal will probably not be the last, and Offers will likely begin to pop up in other places.
Google has occasionally promoted other Google products and services like Android phones or Chrome, but this is the first time Google Offers has popped up on the main page.
Stephanie Tilenius, vice president of Google Commerce, said at a conference last month that there will be more “density” to Google Offers, meaning it could be integrated with Google + and mobile commerce apps like Google Wallet and Google Shopper soon .
Google kicked off its Offers product in beta in April in Portland, New York City, and San Francisco. It plans to roll the service out to more than 30 additional cities including Atlanta, Chicago, L.A., and Miami in the coming months.
Google made 96 per cent of its $29bn (£17.9bn) revenues last year from advertising.
