In a week when grocers launched even more price wars – the latest being Morrisons’ Price Crunch offer of a range of eight products for 50p each – it is clear that price is king.

And it is not only the discounters that are obsessed with price. This week, Marks & Spencer’s Sir Stuart Rose not only defended his chairmanship at its AGM, but also fended off shareholders’ comments that M&S food is “too pricey”.

Waitrose is not immune either. While the upmarket grocer is still delivering growth, it knows that some shoppers perceive it as too expensive. So, while it would never descend into the thick of the price war, it is working hard at making its in-store promotional displays bolder. And, as Christmas is already on the agenda for grocers, Waitrose has created a range of 150 gift lines for less than£5 this year.

The grocers are right to keep price top of the agenda, because shoppers are obsessed. A report out today (July 11) found that shoppers are more disloyal than ever and grocers are feeling the brunt of it. Customers are shopping around more for bargains and if they see that one supermarket is having a special offer weekend, it is likely to sway their shopping habits.

As the credit crunch deepens, grocers need to keep price at the forefront. However, maintaining such competitiveness may come at the expense of something else, which, for the grocers, may be their environmental plans.

M&S’s shareholders were keen to bring up the issue of plastic bags on Wednesday. Some were outraged at having to pay 5p for a carrier bag and one shareholder explained that she had seen people leave all their shopping at the till when they were told they had to pay for the bag.

At a retail function last night, one retailer – no doubt on a high salary – said that he had stopped shopping at M&S because of the carrier bag charge. He is obviously not on a budget, but disagrees in principle. Instead of carrying a Bag for Life around all day, he goes elsewhere.

Rose has said that M&S will look again at the carrier bag charge in September, but it’s clear that it is hitting sales. It cannot afford to lose any customers in the present climate and if that is at the expense of its environmental plan, that is a tough choice to make.

With the backlash that M&S has faced over its decision to charge, it is unlikely we will see any other grocers going down this route. They may also curb environmental plans if they think there is no benefit at the moment.

M&S displays its Plan A credentials in-store boldly but, at the moment, customers are only looking at price.

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