Price will nearly always be part of the purchase consideration. With the difficult economic conditions it is likely to become important for a wider group of consumers. Supermarket groups have already started reporting that consumers are changing their behaviour, seeking price deals, buying own brands and shopping around for lower priced items.
This requires companies to carefully construct value propositions that appeal to the different types of consumers and pricing strategy has become a major pre-occupation. It is a delicate balance between passing on price increases and maintaining market share.