It's nice to sip a glass of something quite a bit stronger and more complex. It's more warming, stomach friendly, and diverse food pairing friendly. Which is to say these beers aren't really competing with pils and lagers, they are competing with wines, and very effectively so for people whose pallet aligns more with bitterness and the sensory experience of drinking (good) beer.
I get tired of big IPAs in a hurry, but sometimes they are just what you are looking for in qty = 1. I like a beer while skiing, and the bit stronger and generally hoppier works. The trend I am totally over is brewing stouts in whiskey barrels. It's just a single note outcome and way too sweet.
I think the taste, mouthfeel and how you react to the warmth of the alcohol probably drive preference, both between beer types and beer as opposed to wine, liquors, etc. Setting arbitrary ABV ranges doesn't mean much to me. There are days where a few low ABV session beers are perfect, and cold evenings when sharing a couple of bottles north of 10% is perfect.
At the simplest level, a $12 bomber can compete really well against a $12 bottle of wine, and the after effects are generally a lot more pleasant for me. I'm not saying just go and drink the whole thing at one sitting, but shitty lingering hangovers are the scourge of getting older and drinking much of anything, and well balanced, higher ABV, and pricier beers are pretty much #1 on my list for the least impact, especially when consumed over a few hours with good food.
