ChatGPT answers, unedited

Yes. If you already have an ecommerce store selling physical products and are adding courses, I’d choose differently than I would for a pure course creator.

My top choices

🥇 If you're already on Shopify: Shopify + Thinkific

This is probably the cleanest setup for an ecommerce brand branching into education.

Thinkific has a Shopify integration that lets you sell courses directly alongside your physical products. When someone purchases a course through Shopify, Thinkific automatically creates the student account and grants course access. Thinkific App Store Thinkific Support

You can then connect Thinkific to an email platform such as Kit and trigger marketing based on student/customer activity. Thinkific App Store

Your architecture becomes:

Shopify
→ physical products
→ course checkout
→ bundles
→ order history

Thinkific
→ course delivery
→ lessons
→ quizzes
→ student progress

Email/CRM
→ abandoned cart
→ post-purchase sequences
→ course onboarding
→ cross-sells
→ product → course upsells
→ course → physical product upsells

This is especially attractive if physical products are still the core business.

🥇 If funnels/email are the main growth engine: Kajabi

If you're trying to build something more like:

Instagram/ads/content → lead magnet → email sequence → physical product → course → upsell → membership

I'd seriously consider Kajabi.

Kajabi combines course hosting, checkout, email automation, landing pages, funnels, behavioral automations, upsells and order bumps in one system. Kajabi

That's its major advantage: you don't have to stitch together a course platform + funnel builder + email platform + automation software.

The catch is that Kajabi is considerably more expensive, so I'd only choose it if you're actually going to use the marketing infrastructure.

The setup I'd probably recommend for your business

If your existing ecommerce store is Shopify, I'd initially do:

Shopify + Thinkific + Kit

rather than ripping your ecommerce operation out and moving everything to Kajabi.

Then build funnels like:

Physical product buyer
→ education email series
→ free mini-course
→ paid course
→ advanced product bundle

And:

Course buyer
→ course onboarding
→ product recommendation
→ bundle
→ membership/advanced course

That gives you a very powerful physical product + knowledge product flywheel.

If, however, you're building the course business to become a major revenue stream and you want sophisticated evergreen funnels, I'd lean toward Kajabi and potentially keep Shopify as the physical-product storefront.

One important distinction

I wouldn't choose based primarily on "which course platform is best."

I'd choose based on where you want the customer relationship to live:

• Shopify = ecommerce is the center of the business
• Kajabi = marketing/customer journey is the center
• Thinkific = education is the center

For your description — ecommerce store branching into digital courses — Shopify + Thinkific is my default recommendation, while Shopify + Kajabi is the more sophisticated option if funnels and email-driven sales are going to be a major part of the strategy. Thinkific's Shopify integration is specifically designed for selling courses alongside an existing store. Thinkific App Store

If you tell me what ecommerce platform you're currently using (Shopify, WooCommerce, etc.), roughly how much you sell per month, and whether the course will be $50, $500, $2,000+, etc., I can narrow this down to the best 2–3 setups and the actual funnel architecture I'd use.

Thinkific has a Shopify integration that lets you sell courses directly alongside your physical products. When someone purchases a course through Shopify, Thinkific automatically creates the student account and grants course access. Thinkific App Store Thinkific Support

You can then connect Thinkific to an email platform such as Kit and trigger marketing based on student/customer activity. Thinkific App Store

Your architecture becomes:

Shopify
→ physical products
→ course checkout
→ bundles
→ order history

Thinkific
→ course delivery
→ lessons
→ quizzes
→ student progress

Email/CRM
→ abandoned cart
→ post-purchase sequences
→ course onboarding
→ cross-sells
→ product → course upsells
→ course → physical product upsells

This is especially attractive if physical products are still the core business.

🥇 If funnels/email are the main growth engine: Kajabi

If you're trying to build something more like:

Instagram/ads/content → lead magnet → email sequence → physical product → course → upsell → membership

I'd seriously consider Kajabi.

Kajabi combines course hosting, checkout, email automation, landing pages, funnels, behavioral automations, upsells and order bumps in one system. Kajabi

That's its major advantage: you don't have to stitch together a course platform + funnel builder + email platform + automation software.

The catch is that Kajabi is considerably more expensive, so I'd only choose it if you're actually going to use the marketing infrastructure.

The setup I'd probably recommend for your business

If your existing ecommerce store is Shopify, I'd initially do:

Shopify + Thinkific + Kit

rather than ripping your ecommerce operation out and moving everything to Kajabi.

Then build funnels like:

Physical product buyer
→ education email series
→ free mini-course
→ paid course
→ advanced product bundle

And:

Course buyer
→ course onboarding
→ product recommendation
→ bundle
→ membership/advanced course

That gives you a very powerful physical product + knowledge product flywheel.

If, however, you're building the course business to become a major revenue stream and you want sophisticated evergreen funnels, I'd lean toward Kajabi and potentially keep Shopify as the physical-product storefront.

One important distinction

I wouldn't choose based primarily on "which course platform is best."

I'd choose based on where you want the customer relationship to live:

• Shopify = ecommerce is the center of the business
• Kajabi = marketing/customer journey is the center
• Thinkific = education is the center

For your description — ecommerce store branching into digital courses — Shopify + Thinkific is my default recommendation, while Shopify + Kajabi is the more sophisticated option if funnels and email-driven sales are going to be a major part of the strategy. Thinkific's Shopify integration is specifically designed for selling courses alongside an existing store.

For an ecommerce store expanding into digital courses, I’d avoid choosing a course platform alone. You need a stack that connects:

Product purchase → email segmentation → funnel automation → upsell/cross-sell → course delivery → customer retention

The best fit depends on whether your physical products or your courses are the main revenue engine.

Best all-in-one options

If your store is already successful (Shopify/WooCommerce)

I would usually keep your ecommerce platform and add a marketing/course layer.

A strong setup:

Option A — Ecommerce-first (most scalable)

• Ecommerce: Shopify
• Email: Klaviyo
• Course delivery: Thinkific or Kajabi
• Automation connector: Zapier

This gives you excellent product-based email flows:

• abandoned cart
• repeat purchase campaigns
• product education sequences
• customer-to-student conversion campaigns

Klaviyo is widely used by ecommerce brands because of its product-data integrations and revenue attribution features. Sequenzy

Option B — One dashboard, fewer integrations

Use:

• Kajabi (courses + funnels + email)
• Shopify for physical products

Good if your course becomes a major profit center.

Option C — Lowest-cost launch

Use:

• Systeme.io for funnel + email + course
• Shopify/WooCommerce stays separate

Good for testing:

• "Buy product → get mini-course"
• "Product bundle + education"
• "Community + subscription"

My recommendation for a typical ecommerce brand

If you already have customers buying physical products:

Best overall: Shopify + Klaviyo + Kajabi
→ strongest customer lifecycle and premium course experience.

If you are still proving the course idea:

Best value: Systeme.io
→ launch funnels, collect emails, sell courses, test demand without a large software stack. Infinite Agent

If your courses are high-ticket ($500–$5,000):

Consider: GoHighLevel or Kajabi
→ because lead nurturing and sales follow-up matter more than just course hosting. OnlineCourseTools

A key question: What ecommerce platform are you currently using (Shopify, WooCommerce, Amazon, something else), and are your courses low-ticket ($20–$200) or premium ($500+)? The best stack changes a lot based on that.

Yes. Since you already have an ecommerce store selling physical products and are adding courses, I would not replace your ecommerce platform with a course-first all-in-one. I’d keep your store as the commerce hub and add a course/funnel layer around it.

My top choices

1. Shopify + Thinkific — probably your best fit

If your physical products are already on Shopify, Thinkific has a direct Shopify integration. Your courses appear as Shopify products, customers purchase through Shopify, and Thinkific automatically creates the student's account and grants course access. support.thinkific.comsupport.thinkific.comsupport.thinkific.comwww.kajabi.comsysteme.io

That gives you a very clean model:

Shopify
→ physical products
→ course purchases
→ bundles
→ discounts

Thinkific
→ course delivery
→ student accounts
→ course progress

Klaviyo/ActiveCampaign
→ abandoned cart
→ product buyer sequences
→ course nurture
→ cross-sells
→ launches

Thinkific also supports connections to email platforms such as Mailchimp, Kit, ActiveCampaign and others, as well as Zapier for more customized automations. support.thinkific.com

One important limitation: Thinkific itself isn't designed to process your physical products. Its documentation specifically recommends using Shopify alongside Thinkific for physical products. support.thinkific.com

For a product-first ecommerce business branching into education, that's actually a good architecture.

2. Shopify + Kajabi — if the courses become a major business

Kajabi is stronger if your long-term model is something like:

Physical product → free training → course → advanced course/coaching → membership

Kajabi combines email sequences, behavioral automation, landing pages, funnels, checkout, courses and community. www.kajabi.com

The downside is that you're paying for a much more extensive creator-marketing platform while still maintaining Shopify for your physical products.

I'd choose Kajabi if courses/coaching are expected to become a significant portion of revenue, rather than simply being an educational add-on to your ecommerce business.

3. Systeme.io — interesting if you want to consolidate

systeme.io is worth looking at if you want funnels + email + courses + automation in one inexpensive system. Its current platform includes courses, email marketing, funnels, automation, affiliate management and CRM functionality. systeme.io

It's particularly attractive if you're building something like:

Facebook/Instagram ad
↓
lead magnet
↓
email sequence
↓
course sales page
↓
course
↓
physical product upsell

But I'd be more inclined to use it as the marketing/course layer rather than making it the replacement for a mature physical-product ecommerce operation.

What I'd build in your situation

I'd seriously consider this stack:

Shopify
→ products + checkout + customer/order data

Thinkific
→ courses

Klaviyo
→ email marketing and customer segmentation

Zapier/Make
→ only where native integrations aren't enough

Then create segments such as:

• Physical-product buyer
• Course buyer
• Both product + course buyer
• Lead but hasn't purchased
• Product buyer who hasn't bought course
• Course buyer who hasn't bought physical product

That lets you build some very powerful cross-selling.

For example:

Customer buys your physical product
→ 3 days later: "How to get more from your [product]"
→ educational content
→ free mini lesson
→ course offer
→ course purchase
→ course onboarding
→ advanced physical-product bundle

Or the reverse:

Someone buys your course
→ onboarding
→ lesson 2
→ "Here's the equipment/materials I recommend"
→ relevant physical-product offer
→ bundle/upsell.

That's where your ecommerce + education model can become substantially more valuable than simply selling a course alongside your products.

My recommendation: if you tell me what ecommerce platform you're currently using (Shopify, WooCommerce, etc.), what email platform you use, and roughly how many products/courses you expect to have, I can map out the exact funnel + software stack I'd use, including where checkout, email, upsells and course delivery should happen.

Yes. If you already sell physical products through ecommerce and you're adding courses, I’d prioritize a platform that can handle both product sales and education without creating a disconnected marketing stack.

My shortlist

1. systeme.io — probably my first choice for you

This is particularly interesting because you're branching from products into courses, rather than starting a pure course business.

Systeme.io combines:

• Sales funnels
• Checkout/order forms
• Email campaigns and automation
• Digital products
• Courses and memberships
• Upsells/order bumps
• Affiliate management

A purchase can automatically add the customer to your email list, trigger an automation, and provide course access. Systeme.io Help Systeme.io

It also explicitly supports selling digital products and courses in the same funnel, which is very close to your use case. Systeme.io

The big advantage is that you don't have to build something like:

Shopify → Zapier → ActiveCampaign → Teachable → another checkout

Instead:

Traffic → Funnel → Product/Course → Email automation → Upsell

all lives in one ecosystem.

2. kajabi.com — best if courses become a major revenue stream

Kajabi is the more polished/premium option.

It combines courses, digital products, memberships, email, landing pages, funnels, checkout and automation. Its automation can react to purchases and student behavior, such as completing a module. Kajabi Kajabi

For example, you could build:

Buy Product A
↓
Email sequence
↓
Free training
↓
$49 mini-course
↓
$499 flagship course
↓
Membership/coaching

That's where Kajabi becomes very compelling.

The downside is that if your physical ecommerce operation is still the main business, I'd be reluctant to move the entire store ecosystem into Kajabi. I'd use it primarily as the education/marketing engine.

3. GoHighLevel

I'd consider GoHighLevel if your real goal is sophisticated funnel + CRM automation, rather than simply hosting courses.

It's particularly attractive if you eventually want complex sequences such as:

Customer buys $75 product → wait 7 days → email course offer → didn't purchase → retarget → purchases course → onboarding sequence → course completion → high-ticket offer.

But it can be more platform than you need if you're simply trying to add courses to an existing ecommerce business.

What I'd actually build in your situation

I'd structure the business around one customer database, rather than thinking of "physical customers" and "course customers" as separate audiences.

For example:

Ecommerce customer
→ post-purchase email sequence
→ educational content
→ free mini-course
→ paid course
→ advanced course/coaching
→ physical-product cross-sells

And conversely:

Course customer
→ course onboarding
→ education/content
→ recommended physical products
→ bundles
→ subscription/repeat purchase

That creates a much more valuable customer lifecycle.

My recommendation

If you're already established on Shopify or another ecommerce platform, I would not rip out your ecommerce store just to add courses.

I'd probably do:

Shopify + Systeme.io

or, if you're building a higher-end education brand:

Shopify + Kajabi

If you're willing to consolidate more of the business into one platform, Systeme.io is the one I'd investigate first. It specifically supports courses, digital products, funnels, email and payments in the same system, and its current free tier makes it relatively low-risk to test. Systeme.io Systeme.io

If you tell me what ecommerce platform you're using now (Shopify, WooCommerce, etc.), your approximate monthly sales, and the price of the course you're planning, I can narrow this down to the best stack for your business and show you exactly how I'd connect the product → email → funnel → course → upsell journey.

Yes. Since you already sell physical/ecommerce products and are adding digital courses, I’d prioritize a platform where the product sale, email automation, funnel, and course access share the same customer record.

My top picks

1. systeme.io — my first choice for your situation

systeme.io

It is unusually well suited to the transition you're making because it combines sales funnels, checkout, email, automation, digital products, courses, memberships, affiliates, and even physical products. A purchase can automatically trigger email sequences and course access without having to stitch together separate systems. systeme.io

For example, you could build:

Physical product buyer → post-purchase emails → educational content → course offer → course checkout → course onboarding → upsell

And separately:

Free guide → email nurture → low-priced physical product → course offer → membership

That's the kind of cross-selling I'd want for an ecommerce brand expanding into education.

It also currently has a free plan, with paid plans starting at $17/month according to its current course-platform information. systeme.io

2. Kajabi — better if courses become the main business

Kajabi

Kajabi is stronger if your long-term vision is expert brand + courses + coaching + memberships. Its funnels, email sequences, behavioral automation, checkout, upsells and course delivery are tightly connected. www.kajabi.com

I'd choose Kajabi over systeme.io if you're building a premium education business and don't mind paying more for a more polished ecosystem.

3. Podia — good if simplicity matters

Podia

Podia is attractive for a straightforward combination of courses, downloads, memberships and selling. It supports courses with video, downloads, quizzes, etc. help.podia.com

The drawback for your particular use case is that Podia's email integrations are designed around sending subscriber data to external email platforms, rather than giving you the same deeply integrated funnel/automation architecture that systeme.io or Kajabi provides. help.podia.com

What I'd do in your shoes

If your existing store is already on Shopify, I wouldn't necessarily rip it out immediately.

I'd consider:

Shopify = physical-product commerce
↓
systeme.io = funnels + email + courses
↓
Shared customer segmentation/automation

But if you're relatively early and don't have a huge existing Shopify operation, systeme.io can potentially consolidate much more of the stack because it supports both physical and digital products. systeme.iosysteme.io

The key question is actually how your existing ecommerce store is built.

If you tell me whether you're currently using Shopify, WooCommerce, Wix, Squarespace, etc., plus roughly what your course price will be ($50, $500, $2,000+), I can recommend the exact stack and funnel architecture I'd use.

Yes. If your existing business is ecommerce/product sales and you're adding courses, I’d prioritize a platform that can handle physical products + digital courses + funnels + email automation without creating a messy tech stack.

My shortlist

🥇 I'd look at systeme.io first

systeme.io

For what you're describing, systeme.io is probably the most interesting option. It combines courses, checkout, funnels, email sequences, tagging/segmentation and automation in one system. Its funnels can sell digital products and courses and automatically trigger the associated email and course access. help.systeme.io

The important part for an ecommerce business is that you can structure something like:

Physical product buyer → education offer → lead magnet → email sequence → course → upsell

For example:

Buy your $79 product → get a free mini-course → 7-day educational email sequence → offer $299 course → course completion → offer premium product/bundle.

That kind of cross-selling is where an integrated system becomes much more valuable than simply adding a course platform.

🥈 Kajabi if courses become the main business

Kajabi

Kajabi is stronger if you're ultimately building a knowledge/education business around your products. It has courses, email automation, landing pages, funnels, checkout, upsells and community in one system. www.kajabi.com

I'd choose Kajabi over systeme.io if your future looks like:

Content → email list → course → coaching/community → high-ticket offers

rather than primarily:

Ecommerce store → physical products → course as an additional revenue stream.

🥉 If you're already on Shopify: Shopify + Thinkific

Thinkific

If your current ecommerce store is Shopify, I wouldn't necessarily rip it out.

Thinkific has a Shopify integration that lets your courses appear as Shopify products. Customers purchase through Shopify, and Thinkific automatically creates their student account and grants course access. support.thinkific.com

The downside is that you now have two systems, and Shopify/Thinkific have separate order/payment records, so it's not as elegant as a true all-in-one funnel system. support.thinkific.com

What I'd do in your situation

If you tell me what ecommerce platform you're currently using (Shopify, WooCommerce, Wix, etc.), your approximate course price ($49 / $299 / $1,000+), and whether your products are physical, digital, or both, I can recommend the exact stack and map out the product → email → funnel → course → upsell architecture for you.

Yes. If you already have an ecommerce store selling physical products and you're adding courses, I would not automatically move the whole business to a course platform. The best setup depends on whether your physical-product store remains the core business.

My top choices

Kajabi has the strongest funnel → email → course → upsell integration. It includes email marketing, funnels, landing pages, automations and course delivery, so you can trigger things such as "customer finished Module 3 → offer advanced course." www.kajabi.com

But I'd keep Shopify as the ecommerce engine if you already have a meaningful physical-product business. Shopify is designed around product catalogues, inventory, checkout, fulfillment, etc., whereas Kajabi is designed around knowledge products.

The stack I'd lean toward for you

Shopify → Klaviyo → Kajabi

Think of it as:

Physical product customer
→ Shopify purchase
→ Klaviyo identifies/tag customer
→ email sequence
→ course offer
→ Kajabi checkout
→ course enrollment
→ course-progress emails
→ advanced course / membership / physical-product upsell

Klaviyo is particularly attractive if your existing business already has substantial ecommerce email activity, because you don't want to abandon sophisticated product-based segmentation and flows just because you're introducing courses.

Thinkific is another strong course option. It has substantially more integrations than Kajabi and explicitly supports integrations including Shopify, ActiveCampaign and Mailchimp. The tradeoff is that you'll generally be assembling more of the marketing system yourself. www.thinkific.com

When I'd choose Kajabi instead

If your strategy is:

"The products bring people in, but eventually I want courses, coaching, memberships and digital products to become the bigger business."

Then I'd seriously consider Shopify + Kajabi, rather than Shopify + Thinkific + separate funnel software + email software. Kajabi's big advantage is that the marketing and course data live together. www.kajabi.com

One important distinction

If by "integrated funnel/email/course platform" you mean one system that can also sell your physical products, I'd look at this differently.

I'd want to know:

1. What ecommerce platform are you currently using? Shopify, WooCommerce, BigCommerce, etc.
2. Roughly how much of your revenue is physical products vs. courses?
3. Are your courses likely to be $50–$200, $500+, or memberships?
4. Do you already use an email platform such as Klaviyo, Mailchimp, ActiveCampaign, or none?

Give me those four and I can recommend the exact stack and funnel architecture I'd use for your store, including which platform should own the customer/email data.

Yes. If your existing ecommerce store sells physical products and you're adding digital courses, I’d look at platforms that can handle both sides of the customer journey rather than moving your whole business onto a course-only platform.

My shortlist

1. Systeme.io — probably the one I'd investigate first

systeme.io

This is unusually well matched to what you're describing. It combines funnels, email marketing, automation, courses, payments, and physical products in one system. Its checkout can distinguish between physical and digital products, and it supports physical products in upsell/downsell flows. systeme.io

That gives you some interesting funnels, for example:

Physical product buyer → email sequence → free mini-course → paid course → coaching/membership

or:

Course lead magnet → email nurture → course → physical product bundle

That's the sort of cross-selling I'd want for your business.

2. Kajabi — better if courses become the major business

Kajabi

Kajabi is excellent for courses + sophisticated email + funnels. Its current platform includes courses, checkout, email sequences, behavioral automation, funnels, upsells and order bumps. www.kajabi.com

The catch is that physical ecommerce isn't its native strength. Kajabi recommends using Shopify Buy Buttons or Zapier/third-party fulfillment for physical products. systeme.iohelp.kajabi.com

So I'd choose Kajabi if your strategy is essentially:

"We're becoming a course/education company that happens to sell products."

I'd choose something else if it's:

"We're an ecommerce company adding courses to increase customer lifetime value."

3. Podia — very easy, but I'd probably rule it out for you

Podia

Podia is nice for courses, downloads, memberships, email and digital products, but physical products aren't a native ecommerce feature. Podia itself describes physical-product selling as a workaround and doesn't provide inventory/shipping/fulfillment. help.podia.com

So if you already have meaningful physical-product sales, I wouldn't make Podia the center of the operation.

What I'd do in your situation

Keep Shopify as the ecommerce engine if that's what you're already using, and add the course/funnel layer around it unless you specifically want to migrate away from Shopify.

A strong architecture would be:

Shopify
→ physical products, inventory, shipping, orders

Systeme.io
→ landing pages, lead magnets, course delivery, email sequences, funnels

Integration
→ Shopify purchase triggers → Systeme.io tags/segments → automated cross-sell sequences

For example:

Customer buys Product A

↓

Email 1: How to get the most from Product A

↓

Email 3: Free training related to Product A

↓

Email 7: Introduce your $97 course

↓

Course buyer: offer Product B / bundle

↓

Course completion: offer advanced course/coaching

That lets your physical products become the customer acquisition mechanism for your courses, rather than treating the course business as a completely separate operation.

My ranking for your use case

🥇 Systeme.io — strongest single-platform candidate if you want funnels + email + courses + physical/digital offers.

🥈 Shopify + course/funnel platform — strongest if physical ecommerce is already substantial and you don't want to compromise your store.

🥉 Kajabi + Shopify — strongest premium setup if courses/education are going to become a major revenue stream.

4. Podia — great simplicity, but less compelling when physical ecommerce matters.

If you tell me what ecommerce platform you're currently using (Shopify, WooCommerce, etc.), your approximate monthly revenue, and the price range of the courses, I can narrow this down to the best 1–2 setups and show you exactly how I'd connect the funnel + email + product sales.

If you already have an ecommerce store selling physical products and you're adding digital courses, I would not automatically move the whole business into a course platform. The best setup depends on whether your physical-store engine is Shopify and how sophisticated you want your marketing automation to become.

My top choices

1. HighLevel — probably the most interesting for your situation

If you're already selling physical products, HighLevel + Shopify is worth serious consideration.

HighLevel's current Shopify integration can sync products, collections, contacts, orders and transactions, and use ecommerce activity for automated follow-up. It also supports ecommerce workflows around things like orders and payments. help.gohighlevel.comsupport.learnworlds.com

That means you can build something like:

Physical product buyer → email sequence → educational content → course offer → course purchase → upsell/coaching/membership

And, importantly, you can segment based on what someone actually bought.

For example:

Customer buys Product A
↓
7-day usage/education email sequence
↓
"Want to learn how to get better results?"
↓
Free mini-course/webinar
↓
Paid course
↓
Advanced course or subscription

That's a very natural fit for an ecommerce brand expanding into education.

2. Kajabi — best if courses become a major revenue stream

Kajabi is probably the cleanest course + funnel + email + checkout solution.

Kajabi currently combines courses, payments, landing pages, email campaigns, automation and funnels in one system. It also supports upsells, order bumps, subscriptions and payment plans. www.kajabi.com

It has also added a more traditional cart experience, allowing customers to purchase multiple products in one transaction. help.kajabi.com

The catch: if your physical ecommerce operation is substantial, I wouldn't make Kajabi the center of the entire business. Shopify is generally a better physical-commerce engine.

I'd use Kajabi if the business is evolving toward:

Ecommerce brand → education brand → courses → memberships → coaching

3. LearnWorlds + Shopify — potentially the best hybrid

This is the one I'd look at if you're saying:

"I absolutely want to keep my existing ecommerce store, products, inventory and checkout, but I want a serious LMS for courses."

LearnWorlds has a Shopify integration that lets Shopify act as the payment/store layer while LearnWorlds handles course delivery. Courses can be synchronized into Shopify, and customers purchasing through Shopify can be automatically enrolled. support.learnworlds.com

LearnWorlds also integrates with email platforms including ActiveCampaign, Mailchimp, Kit, GetResponse and others. support.learnworlds.com

The downside is that you're running two systems, rather than getting everything under one roof.

What I'd choose for your business

If you're primarily:

🛒 Ecommerce business + adding courses

I'd rank them:

1. Shopify + HighLevel + course functionality
2. Shopify + LearnWorlds + email platform
3. Shopify + Kajabi
4. Move everything toward Kajabi

If you're becoming:

🎓 Education business that happens to sell physical products

then I'd flip it:

1. Kajabi
2. HighLevel
3. LearnWorlds + Shopify

The key question isn't really "which course platform?"

It's where should the customer data and automation live?

For your model, I'd want a system that knows:

• what physical product someone bought
• how much they've spent
• what course they've purchased
• what lesson/module they've completed
• whether they've opened/clicked emails
• whether they're a repeat customer
• what offer they should see next

That's where HighLevel becomes particularly compelling because Shopify activity can feed into the CRM/automation layer. help.gohighlevel.com

If you tell me what ecommerce platform you're currently using (Shopify, WooCommerce, etc.), roughly how many products you sell, and whether the courses are going to be low-ticket ($20–100), mid-ticket ($100–500), or high-ticket ($500+), I can recommend the exact stack and funnel architecture I'd use.

Yes. If you already have an ecommerce store selling physical products and are adding courses, I’d avoid choosing a course platform in isolation. The key is whether it can share the customer → email → funnel → purchase → course access journey with your existing store.

My top choices

1. If you're already on Shopify: I'd start with Shopify + Thinkific

Thinkific has a Shopify integration that lets your courses appear as Shopify products alongside your physical goods. A customer buys through Shopify, and Thinkific automatically creates the student account and grants course access. support.thinkific.com

That gives you a very clean model:

Shopify
→ physical products
→ course products
→ bundles
→ checkout
→ customer/order data

Thinkific
→ course delivery
→ student experience
→ course progress

Email/CRM
→ abandoned cart
→ post-purchase sequences
→ course upsells
→ product replenishment
→ segmentation

The important caveat: Shopify purchases don't become Thinkific Orders, so Shopify remains your commerce system of record. support.thinkific.com

2. If courses are going to become a major part of the business: Shopify + LearnWorlds

This is probably the combination I'd investigate most seriously for your situation.

LearnWorlds has a Shopify integration, plus integrations with email platforms such as ActiveCampaign, Mailchimp, Kit, GetResponse and others. It also supports funnels, upsells/cross-sells and ecommerce functionality. www.learnworlds.com

So you could build something like:

Facebook/Instagram/Google ad
↓
Product landing page
↓
Physical product purchase
↓
Email sequence
↓
"Learn how to get better results from your product"
↓
Free mini-course / webinar
↓
Paid course
↓
Course completion
↓
Advanced product bundle / subscription / coaching

That's a very powerful physical product → education → higher-LTV customer model.

3. Kajabi is excellent—but I'd be careful in your case

Kajabi is arguably the strongest all-in-one choice for courses + funnels + email + landing pages + payments. Its funnels connect landing pages, email campaigns and checkout, and it supports automated sequences based on customer behavior. www.kajabi.com

So if you were primarily a course/coaching business, I'd put Kajabi near the top.

But Kajabi's native products are principally digital products/services—courses, communities, coaching, podcasts, newsletters and downloads. help.kajabi.com

For a business where physical product ecommerce is already important, I'd rather keep Shopify as the commerce engine and connect the education layer to it.

What I'd choose for you

If your business looks like:

Physical products are currently the main revenue + courses are an additional revenue stream

I'd go:

Shopify → LearnWorlds → ActiveCampaign

or, for a simpler/cheaper setup:

Shopify → Thinkific → Shopify Email/Klaviyo/ActiveCampaign

If instead you're thinking:

Courses are going to become a major revenue engine and I want the simplest possible all-in-one marketing system

then:

Kajabi

is worth considering.

The big strategic opportunity here isn't merely "sell courses." It's using your existing product customers as the audience for the courses, and then using course customers to sell more physical products.

If you tell me what you sell, whether you're currently on Shopify/WooCommerce/etc., your approximate monthly sales, and whether you're using Klaviyo/ActiveCampaign/etc., I can narrow this down to the best 2-stack options and show you exactly how I'd build the funnel.

Yes. Since you already sell physical/ecommerce products and are adding courses, I’d prioritize a platform that can handle product sales + email + funnels + course delivery + upsells without forcing you to stitch together five systems.

My shortlist

1. I'd look closely at systeme.io

For your particular model, this is probably the most interesting option.

systeme.io combines sales funnels, email marketing, automation, courses, payments, affiliate management and physical-product sales. It specifically supports both digital and physical products in its order forms. systeme.iohelp.systeme.io

It can also do things like:

Physical product → email follow-up → course offer → course enrollment → upsell

And its funnel system supports order bumps and one-click upsells. help.systeme.io

One caveat: systeme.io says it doesn't handle physical-product shipping/fulfillment, so you'd still need your existing fulfillment operation or ecommerce infrastructure for that part. systeme.iohelp.systeme.io

2. Kajabi is better if the course side becomes the center

Kajabi is considerably more polished around the course → email → funnel → coaching/membership → upsell ecosystem.

Its funnels can connect landing pages, offers and email campaigns, and its automation can react to purchases and student behavior. www.kajabi.com

The problem for you is that Kajabi is fundamentally designed around digital products and knowledge businesses, whereas you're starting from an ecommerce/product business. Its native product catalog centers on courses, communities, coaching, podcasts, newsletters and downloads. help.kajabi.com

So I wouldn't move an established physical-product operation to Kajabi just because you're adding courses.

What I'd actually build

If your store is already on Shopify, I'd seriously consider keeping Shopify as the ecommerce engine and adding the course/funnel layer rather than replacing everything.

Your customer journey could be:

Product purchase
↓
Post-purchase email sequence
↓
"Want to learn how to get more out of [product]?"
↓
Free mini-course / training
↓
Paid flagship course
↓
Course upsell / membership / coaching
↓
More physical products

That's a particularly powerful model because your physical product becomes the customer acquisition mechanism for your digital product, rather than having to acquire a completely separate audience for the course.

If you're not deeply invested in Shopify yet, I'd lean toward systeme.io because it can bring the funnel, email, course and product pieces under one roof. It even explicitly supports physical products alongside courses. systeme.io

My ranking for your situation:

1. 🥇 systeme.io — best single-platform fit
2. 🥈 Shopify + course/marketing stack — best if ecommerce is already substantial
3. 🥉 Kajabi — best if courses will eventually become the primary business

If you tell me what ecommerce platform you're currently using (Shopify, WooCommerce, etc.), roughly how many products you sell, and your expected course price ($50 / $200 / $1,000+), I can recommend the exact stack and funnel architecture I'd use.

Yes. Since you already sell physical/ecommerce products and are adding digital courses, I’d prioritize a platform that can handle both types of offers in the same customer journey, rather than a course platform that assumes your business is primarily education.

My shortlist

1. I'd look hardest at systeme.io

For your particular situation, this is probably where I'd start.

systeme.io combines funnels, email marketing, checkout, digital products, courses, automation and affiliate management in one system. Its funnel system can also sell digital products and automatically trigger email sequences and course access after purchase. systeme.io

That matters because you could have something like:

Physical product buyer → email sequence → free training → course offer → course purchase → upsell → continued product promotions

And keep the customer/contact record in the same ecosystem rather than stitching together Shopify + Klaviyo + Kajabi/Teachable + Zapier.

It also supports order bumps and upsells, which is particularly useful for an ecommerce business moving into education. systeme.io

2. Kajabi if the courses become a major revenue stream

Kajabi is stronger if you're building a premium education/creator brand around your products.

It has integrated checkout, courses, email sequences, behavior-based automation, funnels, upsells and order bumps. www.kajabi.com

I'd choose Kajabi over systeme.io if your eventual model looks more like:

Content → email list → webinar/masterclass → $500–$2,000 course → coaching/community → recurring revenue

rather than primarily ecommerce with courses as an additional revenue stream.

3. HighLevel if you want serious CRM automation

HighLevel is worth considering if your business has complicated customer journeys and you want CRM-style automation. It now supports courses/memberships and commerce, including one-time and recurring course offers. help.gohighlevel.com

It's powerful, but I'd consider it more platform than you need unless you're planning sophisticated lead/customer automation.

What I'd do in your shoes

If your existing ecommerce store is already on Shopify, there's an important distinction:

Don't automatically replace Shopify just to get courses.

I'd first determine whether you want:

A. Shopify to remain the commerce engine
→ Shopify + email platform + course platform, connected together.

or

B. One unified platform
→ Move more of the selling/funnel/course/email infrastructure into something like systeme.io.

For a business starting to add courses, I'd lean toward A if your physical-product operation is already substantial, and B if you're still relatively lean and want simplicity.

The really interesting part for you is the cross-sell funnel. For example:

Customer buys Product X
↓
7-day educational email sequence
↓
Free mini-course
↓
"Learn the complete system" paid course
↓
Course buyer gets complementary physical product offer
↓
Existing product customers get course-specific upsell

That's where an integrated funnel/email/course setup can become much more valuable than simply having a place to host videos.

If you tell me what your ecommerce products are, roughly how much the products and course will cost, and whether you're currently on Shopify/WooCommerce/etc., I can recommend the specific stack and funnel architecture I'd use for your business.

Yes. If you already have an ecommerce store and want to add courses, I’d avoid moving your physical-product sales into a course platform unless you’re deliberately consolidating the whole business.

The best setup depends heavily on what your ecommerce platform is.

My shortlist

If you're already on Shopify: I'd lean Shopify + Thinkific

This is probably the cleanest architecture for an established ecommerce business.

Thinkific's Shopify integration lets your courses appear as Shopify products alongside your physical products. When someone buys a course through Shopify, Thinkific automatically creates their student account and grants course access. support.thinkific.com

So your customer journey can look like:

Facebook/Google/email → Shopify → physical product OR course → Thinkific delivers course → email automation → cross-sell

The important caveat is that Shopify remains the source of truth for the course transaction; Thinkific's Shopify integration has limitations around things such as Thinkific coupons, affiliates and order tracking. support.thinkific.com

If courses are becoming a major part of the business: Kajabi

Kajabi is much stronger if your real goal is something like:

Free content → lead magnet → email sequence → webinar/masterclass → course → upsell → membership/coaching

It combines courses, checkout, email sequences, behavioral automation, landing pages and funnels. It also supports digital downloads, communities, coaching and other products. www.kajabi.com

The downside: I'd be reluctant to make Kajabi the core storefront for a serious physical-product ecommerce operation. It's much more naturally a knowledge-business platform than an ecommerce platform.

If you want everything inexpensive and in one place: systeme.io

This one is worth looking at. Its funnels, email automation, payments and courses are designed to work together rather than requiring multiple integrations. A purchase can trigger email automation and course access automatically. help.systeme.io

I'd consider it particularly attractive if your store is relatively small and your courses are becoming an important second revenue stream.

What I'd choose for your situation

If you tell me what ecommerce platform you're currently using (Shopify, WooCommerce, BigCommerce, etc.), plus roughly:

• average physical-product order value
• expected course price ($49 / $199 / $999, etc.)
• whether you want one customer/email database
• whether you need abandoned-cart emails
• whether you plan to sell bundles like “physical product + course”

…I can recommend the specific stack and funnel architecture I'd use, including which platform should own checkout, email, CRM, course delivery and upsells.

For an existing ecommerce store adding digital courses, I would usually avoid moving everything into a course-only platform. The best setup depends on whether your physical products remain the main business or courses become the main revenue stream.

Here are the strongest options:

www.ruzuku.com

My recommendation for most ecommerce brands:

Shopify + Klaviyo + Kajabi

Customer journey:

1. Customer buys your physical product on Shopify

↓

2. Added to Klaviyo email flows

↓

3. Segmented based on purchase behavior

↓

4. Receives education emails

↓

5. Offered a course, membership, coaching, or digital upsell

↓

6. Course delivered through Kajabi

Example:

• Fitness brand sells supplements → course on nutrition/training
• Skincare brand sells products → skincare masterclass
• Craft brand sells supplies → advanced tutorials
• Pet brand sells products → pet training course

This lets your products become the customer acquisition channel and your courses become the higher-margin offer.

If you want fewer tools:

Kajabi is probably the cleanest all-in-one option because it combines:

• landing pages
• email automation
• funnels
• checkout
• courses
• memberships

It is especially good if your revenue will shift toward education rather than physical inventory. zapier.com

If your store is already on Shopify:

I would not migrate away from Shopify just because you are adding courses. Shopify is much stronger for:

• inventory
• shipping
• product variants
• marketplaces
• retail operations

Courses are where Shopify needs help from apps or integrations. ecommercewebsitecreate.com

Email platform choice

For ecommerce + courses, I would rank:

1. Klaviyo — best for product purchase behavior, segmentation, abandoned carts, post-purchase flows
2. ActiveCampaign — better if you have complex automation
3. Kajabi Email — best if you consolidate everything into Kajabi

A practical growth stack

Under ~$1k/month revenue from courses:

• Shopify
• Klaviyo
• Thinkific or Teachable

$1k–$20k/month course opportunity:

• Shopify
• Klaviyo
• Kajabi

Course becomes the main business:

• Kajabi alone

The key question: Are your courses meant to be an add-on that increases customer lifetime value, or are you trying to build a separate education business? That answer changes the ideal stack.

Yes. If you already sell physical products and want to add digital courses, I’d prioritize a platform that can handle ecommerce + funnels + email automation + course delivery without creating a messy stack.

My shortlist

🥇 I'd look closely at systeme.io

For your particular situation, systeme.io is unusually well aligned because it explicitly supports physical products alongside courses, funnels, email, marketing automation and ecommerce. systeme.iosysteme.io

The important part is that the pieces are connected. For example:

Physical product buyer → email sequence → free training → course offer → course purchase → onboarding → upsell

You can trigger email automation from purchases, funnel activity, tags and course activity without having to stitch together a separate email platform. systeme.io

It also supports order bumps and upsells, which is particularly useful when you want to turn an existing product customer into a course customer. systeme.io

systeme.io

🥈 Kajabi if the courses are going to become the big business

Kajabi has a more polished creator/course ecosystem. Its checkout supports one-time payments, subscriptions, payment plans, coupons, order bumps and upsells, while its funnels and email automation are integrated with the course experience. www.kajabi.com

The catch: I'd be less inclined to move an established physical-product ecommerce operation entirely into Kajabi. It's much more compelling if you're building a creator/course business that happens to have products.

Kajabi

🥉 Shopify + a dedicated course platform

If your physical-product operation is already substantial—inventory, variants, shipping, fulfillment, abandoned carts, etc.—I'd probably keep Shopify as the ecommerce core and connect it to your course/marketing system rather than replacing it.

That's especially true if you have hundreds of SKUs or your existing Shopify setup is working well.

The key question I'd use to choose

Think about where you're going:

A. "We're an ecommerce brand adding courses."
→ Shopify + course/marketing layer

B. "We're becoming a brand that sells products AND education, and I want one system."
→ systeme.io

C. "Courses/coaching are going to become the primary high-margin business."
→ Kajabi

D. "I want sophisticated CRM, SMS, automations, pipelines and potentially agency-level automation."
→ GoHighLevel

For what you've described, I'd start by testing systeme.io before moving anything else. Its combination of physical products + courses + funnels + email is unusually close to your use case. It also has a free tier, so you can build the proposed customer journey before committing. systeme.iosysteme.io

If you tell me what ecommerce platform you're currently using (Shopify, WooCommerce, etc.), what you sell, and roughly how much the course will cost, I can map out the exact funnel + email sequence + platform stack I'd use.