These kinds of bearings are designed to handle almost exclusively thrust loads in low-speed low-weight applications. Bar stools, for example, make use of ball thrust bearings to support the seat.
Roller thrust bearings, much like ball thrust bearings, handle thrust loads. The difference, however, lies in the amount of weight the bearing can handle: roller thrust bearings can support significantly larger amounts of thrust load, and are therefore found in car transmissions, where they are used to support helical gears. Gear support in general is a common application for roller thrust bearings.