The personal computer market remains in the doldrums with shipments forecast to drop 11.7 percent in the June quarter, according to analyst firm International Data Corporation (IDC).
IDC PC shipment figures for May were lower than forecast, with growth slowing compared to the month before in most markets.
Analyst Loren Loverde said IDC didn't have high expectations for the second quarter of this year, and believed there would only be a minor improvement compared to the first one, but the results were worse than thought.
"The May results reflect deteriorating conditions rather than improvement and the market will probably fall short of projections," Loverde said.
IDC expects stronger June sales figures, along with new products and school holidays ending, to to stem some of the decline. However it still expects PC shipments to drop by 7.8 per cent worldwide this year.
IDC and analyst firm Gartner noted in April this year PC shipments were dropping much faster than expected, and laid the blame on lack of interest in Microsoft's new Windows 8 operating system.
Microsoft is currently revamping the new operating system, and recently released a preview of the upcoming Windows 8.1 that it hopes will address user concerns and reignite interest in its key software offering.
Windows 8.1 is expected to be released in the northern autumn this year, along with the updated version of Windows Server 2012, R2.