2 ~ The far majority of the merchants accepting Bitcoin are using a service such as BitPay where you require to have at least 1 confirmation when it comes to higher value transactions.
You could use a Bitcoin payment card, and then you wouldn't have to wait for any confirmations altogether
This wouldn't really make sense for me as I would then need to go through the hassle of signing up to a Bitcoin related debit card. And to do what? The same as my bank card allows me to do? No thanks. As said before, for international use, Bitcoin is a great functioning currency, for local use not.