<![CDATA[Most retail mix studies evaluate the perceptions of existing customers, leaving the perceptions of prospective consumers — those who are aware of a store but have never transacted with it — largely unexamined. This gap matters for small independent retailers, whose growth depends on converting store awareness into first purchases. This study examines the effect of retail mix on purchase intention among consumers who know but have never purchased from a plastic and packaging retailer ("Store X") in Kartasura, Central Java, whose purchase-conversion rate fell from 75% in 2022 to 62% in 2024 despite stable footfall. Using an applied, explanatory, cross-sectional design, data were collected from 128 respondents selected through judgement sampling, measured with 18 retail mix indicators across six dimensions (merchandise management, pricing, customer service, store design and display, location, communication mix) and three purchase intention indicators on a six-point Likert scale. Data were analysed with descriptive statistics, classical assumption tests, and simple linear regression in IBM SPSS Statistics 30. Respondents rated the retail mix as unsatisfactory (mean 2.44) and their purchase intention as low (mean 2.49); location was the weakest dimension (2.31). Retail mix had a positive and significant effect on purchase intention (b = 0.155; t = 23.486; p < 0.001; adjusted R² = 0.813). The findings indicate that purchase intention among non-customers is shaped by externally observable and socially transmitted retail cues — signage visibility, price transparency, stock availability, and store appearance — rather than by transactional experience, which reframes retail mix as an acquisition instrument rather than merely a satisfaction instrument.]]>
