Global personal computer shipments dropped during the first three months of 2014, while recording the eighth straight quarter of decline in the process, according to Reuters.

Though the industry got a major boost from companies replacing older computers, shipments for personal computers are still lagging as other markets continue to grow, two market research firms confirmed to Reuters this week.

PC shipments in March were down 4.4 percent when compared to the same quarter in 2013. IDC previously believed shipments would drop 5.3 percent, according to Reuters.

Rival market research company Gartner said that PC shipments in the March quarter dropped 1.7 percent, according to a company news release.

"The transition to more mobile devices and usage modes is unlikely to stop, although the short-term impact on PC shipments may slow as tablet penetration rises," IDC said, according to Reuters.

IDC and Gartner research both showed that shipments in the first quarter increased compared to the previous year as a number of companies replaced their older PCs in anticipation of the end of the Windows XP operating system.

Microsoft stopped supporting XP on April 8.

"There is potential for PC shipments to stabilize, but not much opportunity for growth," IDC said.

Total PC shipments in the first quarter were 76.6 million, according to Gartner. IDC said 73.4 million PC were shipped during the same time period. 

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