For those of us who closely monitor grocery-store chatter on Twitter (ok, there's no "us." It's just me), a few clear patterns have emerged. The online conversation about each of the region’s grocers tends to fall into distinct themes—the same topics being brought up again and again, similar tone, sometimes the same players. From these searches in the Washington region, we can learn much about what to expect of the stores and their clientele. The Market Report has broken down the identifying motifs for each local grocer.

Safeway

Constant feed of complaints and, inexplicably, job updates.

Why the Washington workforce maintains a steady stream of updates on its desire to work at Safeway and the status of its applications remains unclear, but it speaks to the ubiquity of the grocer in the District.

Giant

Little action on Twitter. Too much confusion with the adjective "giant" to generate meaningful online conversation, plus Giant does not maintain a Twitter feed. No use complaining if there's no one watching the @Giant mentions. As a result, Giant tweets tend to be not about Giant:

Or all over the map:

Fitting that a large, traditional grocer like Giant with no particular niche, reputation, or cute monikers doesn't drum up much Twitter talk.

Harris Teeter

Development discussion. The up-and-coming grocer sparks conversation about where the next store will be built and when. The company's willingness to build in redeveloping areas keeps it on the radar of civic-minded tweeps.

 Costco

Cost-consciousness and budget chatter. Unsurprisingly, Costco customers tend to discuss dollars and cents:

 Wegmans

Typical worshipful reverie, similar to what you'd hear if you asked someone from upstate New York to discuss the grocery store. People love Wegmans; people love to love on Wegmans on Twitter.

Trader Joe's

A bit all over the place, but one theme remains constant: bitching about long lines.

 Checkout wait times appear to be the major chink in the armor of a grocer that generally gets things right; accordingly, the topic dominates discussion of Trader Joe's.

Whole Foods

Last but not least, there's Whole Foods. To sum, we need only show you this tweet from PeanutFreeMom.

Pretty much says it all.